


Bloody Moon

by Crossover_Queen (littlegirl9)



Category: Blood+, Dance in the Vampire Bund, Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler, Naruto, Trinity Blood, Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M, Fighting on Train, Love at First Sight, M/M, Military, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Possible Character Death, Trains, Vampires, Vatican, Violence, Werewolves, cross-over, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-12
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-09-23 17:45:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9669383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlegirl9/pseuds/Crossover_Queen
Summary: Neji has lived his life as a normal teenager in the small town of Konoha, ready to go out into the world as he nears his 18th birthday and final year of high school. But with the appearance of a new student, Neji's life quickly turns upside down and he discovers that everything isn't as it actually seems.





	1. Chapter 1

Sometimes he had weird dreams. Where he wasn’t himself but also somehow…he was. Lee and Tenten liked to tell him that they were his past lives and he should be so lucky to have dreams like that…if only they really knew.

Neji jumped in his bed, suddenly awake and panting hard as he quickly tried to get over his…dream.

More like nightmare.

With a sigh, he rolled onto his back trying to collect his thoughts before he sat up and sighed. Some dream…

“Good morning.”

Neji looked over to the door where his foster father was coming inside. “Nightmare?” Iruka asked with a smile.

“Y-yeah.” Neji said looking at his hands. “They are getting worse…”

“Worse?”

“I mean…more often I guess.” More vivid, more real, more…everything. “It’s getting harder to wake up from them.”

“I’m sorry Neji.” Iruka said sounding as if he really did wish he could help Neji somehow but instead he grabbed his hands. “You look a little pale….”

“Today is Friday I guess.” Neji said pushing his hair behind his ear.

“Don’t be late.” Iruka said kissing him on the forehead. “And I mean for school and the doctors. Time to get up.”

Neji rolled his eyes. “I may not like the idea but I’m never late.”

“Not like that can’t start now.” Iruka teased before he left.

Shaking his head, slipping out of bed and picking up the rings by his bed side table, slipping on his father’s ring on his thumb and his mother’s ring on his ring finger before going about getting ready for school.

He was in the middle of his third year, and could honestly say that he was excited for it to end, but who wouldn’t be excited to get out of high school and start a life. Neji loved his adopted father, to death, but who wouldn’t love the person who raised them from birth, but Iruka could be over protective…like seriously over protective.

Because he had been so overprotective, Neji had never been sick that he could remember and really only even went to the hospital to get his weekly blood fusion to a disease he had (which he keeps forgetting the name of), as far as he could remember he had never actually been hurt. No broken bone, no cut knee, he has had perfect healthy other than this blood disease he had.

There were always close calls; Neji and Iruka fought tooth and nail when Neji joined the soccer team (which he was now the captain of), but Neji had never been injured when he thought about it. His girlfriend had just said that he was lucky like that.

He set foot down stairs, full dressed in school uniform with his bag over his shoulder. “Oh Neji…”

Looking up, he noticed Iruka standing in the living room, looking at a picture of Neji as a baby, clutched to his chest was a photo album and Neji could see that he had probably spent a good amount of time looking at his photo’s.

“What is it?” Neji asked with a smile though he could probably guess where this was going.

“You’re getting so old Neji.” Iruka said.

Neji chuckled rolling his eyes. “Uh, thanks I guess.”

“I mean, soon you’ll be eighteen years old…and things are going to be different.”

Neji gave his adopted father a sad smile before heading over to him, taking his photo album from Iruka and putting it down. “It’s just college. I’ll always come visit and it’s not that far away.”

Iruka smiled, though in his eyes he looked sad and as if he wanted to say something more. This look was something Neji was becoming accustomed to whenever the subject of college came up. Though he wasn’t sure what it could mean, he only imagined that it had to do with the fact that maybe Iruka didn’t know how to bring up the fact that maybe Neji’s dream of going to America for college wouldn’t be possible.

Though he would admit he wasn’t sure how to ask about it either.

“I should get going.” Neji said waving his hand as he headed to the front door. “I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

“Yeah.” Iruka said. “Be careful.”

When wasn’t he?

* * *

 

School wasn’t too far from his house and he would usually take him ten minutes but he took the long way, in order to go by his girlfriend’s house.

“Neji!”

He looked up, pulling out his ear bud with one hand and turning down the music with the other. “Tenten.” Neji greeted before looking at her disgruntle face. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re late!”

“Late?” He checked his watch. Impossible. He was always on time if not early. And when he looked at the time he could confirm that he was in fact they were on schedule to getting to school on time. “What are you-“

She knocked on his head. “Ow.”

“You were supposed to come early remember! My parents left early, I didn’t want to be alone remember.”

Right. He did remember promising her that. “Sorry.” Neji said. “I didn’t set my alarm.”

She huffed, turning away and beginning to head towards school. “You are on probation till we get to school. Don’t talk to me till we get there.”

Neji could already imagine how this was going to go. He rolled his eyes but smirked watching as Tenten turned her head to look at him. “Okay?”

He just smiled at her before beginning to put her ear bud back into his ear when she hit him again. “Ow. Tenten you’re being mean.”

“I’m being mean?! You’re the one ignoring me.”

He laughed. “You wanted me too, remember.” He cleared his throat before mimicking her voice. “Don’t talk to me till we get there.”

She flushed, causing him to laugh again before grabbing her hand and pulling her closer. “Stop being a mean.” Tenten mumbled walking along side Neji.

“Fine, fine. I will, Panda.” She nudged his shoulder and he nudged her back, a silence wrapped around them and they walked together enjoying it.

At lot of things were changing, thought Neji wouldn’t admit it. He and Tenten had been good friends since they were young and neither of them had really considered dating till they reached high school. They played with the idea for a while, but really didn’t start dating till second year.   They were a little worried at first of it ruining their friendship, but things seemed to be going well for them, though there was that underlining fear of what were to come after this year.

“Did you hear, another person was found murdered?” Tenten asked.

Neji blinked. “Another murder?” That was the seventh one in the past month. No wonder Tenten didn’t wanted to be alone in her neighborhood. People seemed to be getting murdered for no reason at all. “I’ll walk you home.”

“Don’t you have practice today though?” Tenten asked.

“Just wait for me, I’ll walk you back. I’m sure Lee would be fine to do that as well.”

Tenten huffed, crossing her arms. “I’m not a girl that needs to be babied and taken care of.”

“I know that.” Neji said. “But still, it’s not that big of a deal Tenten.”

She smiled locking arms with him. “How did I get so lucky to have such a good boyfriend?”

“I ask myself that too.” Neji said. “What did you do to get so lucky?”

She elbowed him again and he chuckled before some ran past them, directly between them, knocking them off balance and putting a sizable gap between them.

“Hey!” Tenten snapped while Neji rubbed his shoulder looking at the boy who was turning back to look at him. He had bright blue eyes and blond hair and when their eyes meet Neji felt a weird feeling in his chest. “Watch where you’re going!” Tenten snapped glaring at the boy.

He was wearing one of their school uniform but Neji couldn’t place him anywhere before. “Sorry.” The boy said with a birth smile fully turning to them and rubbing the back of his head. “I’m late…well I think I am because I’m actually lost.”

“Do you go to Konoha Academy?” Neji asked. “Are you a transfer?”

“Yes!” The boy said eagerly. “My name is Uzumaki Naruto!” He held out his hand and Neji noticed that he wasn’t even looking at Tenten. All of his attention was on Neji.

“Hyuuga Neji.” Neji said taking Naruto’s hand. It was warm, almost hot but not in any way that Neji found uncomfortable, it was very much welcomed in the cold fall air. “Student body president of Konoha Academy. We are heading there now if you want to walk with us.”

“That’ll be great!” Naruto said.

Neji nodded, taking Tenten’s hand before leading the way. “Are you two dating?” Naruto asked moving to walk on Neji’s other side. Neji wasn’t sure if he was hearing right, but it sounded like a dog was around, growling at something or someone.

“Yes.” Tenten said. “We’ve been dating since our second year of high school.”

“That’s cool…” Naruto said.

Though for some reason, Neji wasn’t sure it was cool. Naruto sounded and looked bitter with the idea of Tenten dating Neji. He smirked to himself, amused at the idea that Naruto liked Tenten. He wasn’t sure if the blond was young, but something about him was naïve and loud, maybe like a puppy.

“Where are you from Naruto?” Neji asked.

“I move around a lot.”

“Do you travel with your parents?” Tenten asked.

“…Yeah.” Naruto said though Neji could tell it was a lie. “But I think I’ll be staying here for a while.”

“It’ll be nice to have you around.” Neji said. “Everyone in Konoha Academy is very friendly.”

“Oh yeah?” Naruto asked looking at Neji with puppy dogs eyes.

Tenten leaned forward to look at Naruto. “Of course! Neji is our president and it’s pretty much his job to make sure everyone is welcome, even new people.”

Naruto smiled. “Sweet! Tell me everything!”

Neji wasn’t really sure what Naruto was expecting him to say but he just went along with telling Naruto about everything Konoha and the school, he made sure to leave out the fact that there were murders going on, trying to keep everything as positive as possible. By the time they made it to school, Naruto was hanging off his every word.

“You make Konoha sound really cool.” Naruto said.

“It’s just a town.” Neji said. “It’s no Tokyo.” He looked at the time before looking at Tenten. “I’m going to take Naruto to the faculty room.”

“See you in class.” Tenten said leaning in to kiss him. It was sort and sweet, something Neji had learned to get over when it came to Tenten’s need for public affection but as their lips met he could hear a growling again.

“Bye Naruto.” Tenten said giving the boy an odd look before she smiled at Neji again waving. Neji smiled at her before looking at Naruto.

“Okay Naruto, I’m sure someone in the faculty room knows that you are coming today.” Neji said.

“Yeah my uh…adopted father works here.” Naruto said.

“Oh really who?” Neji asked beginning to lead Naruto inside.

“Kakashi!” Naruto said happily.

“Oh, Hatake-sensei. He’s my home room teacher.” And he didn’t even know that Hatake-sensei had a son. But…Naruto said he moved around.

“Did you just get adopted by him?”

“Oh, yeah.” Naruto said scratching the back of his head.

“I’m adopted too.” Neji said putting his hand on his chest. “My parents died when I was young and I live with a family friend.”

“Oh cool.” Naruto said. “It’s good to know you aren’t the only one.”

Neji smiled. “Yeah.”

“Neji.”

At the call of his name, Neji turned around to look at Uchiha Sasuke. He was the vice-captain of the soccer team with Neji. “Hey.” Neji said. “Sasuke this is Naruto a transfer student, Naruto this is…” He trailed off, noticing that the two of them were practically glaring at each other. “Uh…did you want something Sasuke?”

Sasuke looked away from Naruto to look at Neji. “I need to speak to you about practice.”

“He was taking me to the faculty room.” Naruto said crossing his arms.

“It’s down the hard to the left, an idiot like you can figure it out.”

Neji blinked a little surprised at Sasuke’s suddenly rudeness. “Do you guys know each other?”

“We’ve crossed paths before.” Sasuke said. “Same orphanage.”

“Oh.” Neji said. He didn’t know Sasuke was adopted either and it bothered him a little to think that he had spent most of his school year with Sasuke as a classmate and he didn’t even know that. “Is this important Sasuke?”

“It is.” Sasuke said.

Neji bit his lip before looking at Naruto before sighing. “Sorry about this. If you just head down the hall it is the door on the left.”

Naruto frowned before shooting Sasuke a glare before he walked away without another word. If Neji didn’t know any better, he was sure Naruto looked a little disappointed. He looked away from Naruto and looked to Sasuke. “I didn’t know you were adopted?”

“I don’t like to tell people about my life.” Sasuke said looking away from Naruto to Neji.

Neji shrugged. “I’m adopted too, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“I think we should call off practice?”

“Call it off? Why?” Neji asked.

“We stay late and with this murder around…”

Neji frowned. “Yeah…your right. I’ll talk to the dean and ask him to cancel all after school activity for today.”

Sasuke nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

“I didn’t even think about that.” He sighed shaking his head. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Sasuke blushed a little but rolled his eyes as well. “It was just a suggestion.”

Neji smiled, knocking his elbow with him before checking the time. “We should head to class.”

“Lead the way.”

* * *

 

“Neji!”

As soon as he stepped into the room he was greeted by the bright blond Yamanaka Ino who was dragging behind Nara Shikamaru. They were both on the student council as his vice president and secretary respectively.  “We have a new student.” Ino said putting her hands on her hips.

“Yeah I know.” Neji said moving out the way to allow Sasuke to get into the class room. “I’m guessing since you know that we have a new student, you know what class he’s in?”

“He’s in ours.” Ino said with a bright smile bouncing on her toes. “It’s exciting isn’t it?”

“Exciting isn’t really the word I would use.” Neji confessed looking over at Tenten who was with Lee.

“Oh?” Shikamaru asked. “What would you use?”

“Weird.” Neji said. “It’s October, don’t you think it’s weird that he’s just now coming in? Don’t you think that’s a little too late? Not to mention, his father is Hatake-sensei, did you know that?”

“Kakashi’s his father?” Ino asked.

“You know you’re the only one who calls him ‘Hatake-sensei’.” Shikamaru pointed out.

Neji rolled his eyes. “That’s besides the point. I’m thinking of asking the dean to cancel after school sports because of this…killer in the neighborhood.” Neji said.

“Afraid of a little killer Neji?” Shikamaru teased before Ino hit him.

“I think it’s a good idea.” Neji said. “Especially since the days are getting shorter.”

“Always concerned Mr. President.”

“Okay everyone settle down.”

Neji looked up to the front of the class room where Hatake Kakashi was putting his books down and Naruto was smiling brightly as he stood by the desk. He was one of the strangest teachers Neji had ever had, seeing as most of his face was covered in a face mask as well as a medical eyepatch. A lot of kids had theories on why his eye was covered and why he covered his mouth from the fact that he was really a model trying to disguise himself or was a wounded veteran with scars that he wanted to hide. Neji just thought he was afraid to get sick and maybe had a fake eye. “We have a new student joining us today.” Kakashi said. “Everyone meet Uzumaki Naruto.”

Uzumaki…something about that sounded…familiar. His eyes blurred a little and he rubbed at them, feeling a little dizzy. He shook his head trying to get his head together before taking a deep breath looking back at the front of the class. “Tell us a little about you.” Kakashi said taking a seat.

“Well, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, a lot of people say I look just like my father! I very good at sports but math fucking- I mean freaking sucks.”

That got some of the kids laughing but Kakashi rolled his eyes. “Just sit down.”

Naruto laughed sheepishly before he moved to take a seat. “Can I get one of our members of the student council to show him around?”

He looked directly at Neji who just nodded looking over at his vice president to put the responsibility on her but she had her finger on her nose, as did Shikamaru. He gave them a pointed look. It was probably best if he did do it anyway.

Neji gave Kakashi another nod before the teacher nodded back, giving him a thumbs up before getting to work.

“So…where were we yesterday?”

* * *

 

During lunch, Neji took Naruto around the school. “There isn’t much but I guess I’ll show you the common spots where kids hang out.”

“What about where the kids…you know.” He wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestable manner that Neji laughed out.

“I wouldn’t know.”

“You mean you and Tenten haven’t….”

Neji blinked, looking at Naruto. He thought that was a pretty personal question but he couldn’t seem the harm in answering, he had nothing to hide. “Not every teenager jumps at the chance to have sex. Some of us want to wait.” He felt like he was explaining this to Iruka again. Also Tenten and Lee.

Neji wanted to wait…and he supposed it was a weird idea for a boy to be the one wanting to wait. Tenten had been ready for a very long time and he personally was a little worried that if he waited too long she wouldn’t be around much longer. Sure they loved each other…but sex was a major part of a relationship, especially a relationship that had been going on for almost two years. And this being their final year in high school…would Tenten wait for him that long. Till he was ready.

“Are you guys waiting for marriage?” Naruto asked reaching into his blazer pocket and pulling out a chocolate bar. He tore it open, breaking off a piece and holding it out to Neji.

Never one to say no to chocolate Neji took the piece, slipping it into his mouth, taking note that Naruto was watching him, his lips especially.

“No…not marriage…” Neji said beginning to head to the roof where many kids had lunch. Tenten and Lee would probably be up there now.

“Then what are you waiting for?”

What was he waiting for? He just wasn’t ready? A part of him had a feeling, knew for a fact more like it that, Tenten was not his soul mate. He loved her, he would say that any time…but he guessed that this was the difference from loving someone and being in love with someone. “It doesn’t really matter.” Neji said opening the door. “This is the roof.”

Naruto hurried out, running over to the edge and leaning over it before smiling, looking back at Neji. “This view is sweet!”

Some girls on the roof giggled at Naruto and Neji rolled his eyes beginning to head over to Naruto.

“Hyuuga-kun.”

He turned to look at Sai. He was in Neji’s class but always a little strange in Neji’s opinion. “Sai, is there something wrong?”

“No, nothing wrong at the moment, but I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?” Neji asked looking over at Naruto. He was with some kids seemingly making them laugh with some joke they were telling.

“Who is that?” Sai asked.

Neji looked at Sai before looking back at Naruto. “He’s a transfer student.”

“From where?”

“Not sure.” Neji shrugged. “You could ask him yourself.”

Sai shook his head. “That would not be a good idea.”

“Why?”

Sai smiled. “I am not good with new people. People think I am strange.”

Neji could understand why but he just waved it off. “I can’t see why.”

Sai continued to give him a fake smile before laughing. “That is a funny joke. Please be careful Neji, there is a killer out there.”

“Yeah…you too.” Neji said watching as Sai left.

“A killer?”

He looked at Naruto, surprised that he was by his side. “Uh…yeah. But don’t worry about it. As long as you’re not outside during the night things will be fine.”

“I can take care of myself.” Naruto said beating his chest and Neji smiled.

“I’m sure you can.”

* * *

 

The day continued on slow and usual and by the time school was over, Neji was slipping on his shoes at the lockers in the front of the school building, waiting for Lee and Tenten.

“Neji!”

He looked up at Naruto who was smiling at him, hoping on one leg while he put on his shoe. “Wanna walk home?”

What was up with this kid? “Sorry, I’m doing something after school.”

“But you don’t have soccer practice.”

“How did you know I was on the team?”

“Ino gave me a briefing on everyone at school…or at least in our class.”

Neji nodded. Ino sure was a blabber mouth. “Well, sorry, I’m going out with my girlfriend and friend.”

Naruto looked completely disappointed and Neji actually felt sorry about that. “But…maybe tomorrow.”

“Yeah…sure.” Naruto said before smiling and walking away with a wave.

“That kids in love with you.” Neji chuckled, looking at Sasuke as he stood next to Neji.

With a shrug Neji. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

Sasuke gave him a look. “You can’t blame him thought, you are pretty cute.”

Pretty…cute…was Sasuke flirting with him. He stood there with a mix of shock and flushed as Sasuke walked away without another word, as if he didn’t say something so outrageous at all. This was…a weird day.

* * *

 

“It’s not funny.” Neji said rolling his eyes as he took off his shoes as he made it to Tenten’s house. Tenten had been laughing the whole time and Lee had not been helping the situation. He should not have told them about Sasuke and Naruto.”

“Neji, my beloved flower-“

“Don’t call me that.”

“-There is no wonder that you have attracted such attention.” Lee said.

“My pretty little boyfriend-“

“Please stop.”

“-I’m starting to get jealous. You have more admires then I do…talk about self-esteem issues material.”

Neji frowned. “You two are making a big deal at this then you should.”

“I have to say thought that I am shocked to hear that Sasuke is gay. He usually as a lot of girl falling for him.” Lee said.

Neji nodded. “Yeah.” As long as he knew Sasuke, girls had always been falling for him, but he couldn’t really talk anymore, he hadn’t even known he was in the orphanage system. “I’ll just remind him as calmly as I can that I’m not gay and that I have a girlfriend.”

Tenten smiled, moving to sit on Neji’s lap. “That’s right. A cute girlfriend.” She kissed Neji’s nose while Neji gave her a skeptical look.

“I don’t know if I would go that far as to say cute. More like average.”

She elbowed him in the stomach while Lee laughed. “You two make a great couple. I feel Uchiha-kun and Uzumaki-kun will be crushed to find that you two are very much in love.”

“I’m not letting them take you.” Tenten said.

“They won’t.” Neji said rolling his eyes. “I’m not into guys. And let’s get off this conversation.”

Tenten moved to sit next to him instead while Lee sat on the other side. “Do you have to go to the doctor today?”

“Yeah, but later, I have time.” Neji said. He usually scheduled his appointment around the time he got out of soccer practice so he had plenty of time till then.

* * *

 

It was later than he thought. Lee left an hour they had arrived at Tenten’s house, explaining he had to go work out. Neji should have left then but he decided to stay with Tenten a little longer. They did homework, and made out a little before accidently falling asleep.

He was more tired than he remembered. He didn’t mean to fall asleep but by the time he woke up the sun was completely gone.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay over? What if that maniac comes after you?” Tenten asked.

“I can take care of myself.” Neji said. “I’ll be more worried if you were out there by yourself, besides I missed my doctor appointment and Iruka probably knows and won’t be too happy about it.” He could already imagine the lecture he was about to get for missing it.

Tenten frowned, holding his hand. “I swear Neji, if you get yourself hurt I’m going to kill you.”

“Wow, kicking someone while their down, that’s mean.” Neji said. “I might have to seriously consider getting a new girlfriend.”

She moved to punch him but he dodged it with a smile, instead leaning forward to kiss her. It started off as a small peck but Tenten continued to kiss him, deepening the kiss little by little before Neji felt his breath being taken away.

He broke the kiss before another. “I have to go.”

“Neji-“

“I’ll text you as soon as I get home.”

She frowned but kissed him again before slowly letting him back out the door. They let go of each other’s hands and he finally began to head home. It was pretty dark outside and chilly. He pulled the jacket he was wearing closer to him before he began to head out.

He was sure it was just because it was dark, but the walk home was longer than it ever had been before. It took him a moment to realize that he was so focused on walking that he didn’t check his surroundings and for a moment, completely unaware of the fact that he was being followed till he heard some leaves crunching behind him.

He turned his head, expecting to see nothing and be paranoid about the whole thing but instead he spotted someone, walking behind him, making no effort to hide or look as if he wasn’t there. Neji half wanted to believe that this was a normal sight. If someone was following him, they would hide, but something about this guy…was weird.

He blinked, preparing himself to get his mind back to normal when he noticed that they were gone.

Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. He turned to face forward, preparing to leave when he’s topped short as the guy was right in front of him.

“Are you lost little mouse?”

“No.” Neji said as strongly as he could but he suddenly felt very cold. He tried to walk around the guy but once again he was right in front of him again. How was…this guy…doing this…

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” He opened his mouth revealing sharp canine teeth and Neji took a step back.

“W-what is this…some Twilight bull-“

For a moment it felt as if everything slowed down and the man was suddenly heading right at him and without thinking he was already moving out of the way.

This was not normal speed. It felt like his body was moving ten times faster than normal but his mind could not keep up and before he knew what was happening he was falling over his feet and tumbling to the ground putting his hands out to stop him.

Neji lifted himself up, pulling his hand away from the broken glass he had fallen on and a shard of it was in his hand. He was still a little shaken by what had just happened here, had he just moved to the other side of the street. With a shaky hand he pulled out the glass, his wound already beginning to bleed and stung as he stood up slowly, holding the hand to his chest.

“That smell…”

He looked up, the guy was standing under a street lamp, his eyes closed as he smelled the air for a moment before he opened his eyes and looked at Neji. They were glowing and a dread feeling filled Neji’s stomach. This wasn’t a game anymore…this guy was really a-

He couldn’t finish the thought before he was pushed back into a wall of a building, his wrist in a tight grip above his head. This was getting serious and he was starting to panic. Trying to pull his hand away was coming up with zero percent of making a difference and trying to push away from the guy was not helping. They were both breathing hard, Neji out of fear and this guy…this monster…this vampire (a vampire…was he really calling this guy a vampire) out of hunger. He was practically shaking as his tongue, came out of his mouth and moved towards Neji’s hand, his grip tightening so tightly that Neji was beginning to think it might break.

He closed his eyes against the pain, not really believing that he was going to die here. His tongue ran against Neji’s palm but didn’t stop there, wrapping his lips around Neji’s finger before pulling away. “What are you?”

“What?” Neji asked not sure what this guy was getting at but he suddenly noticed that something was behind him, something was big…and Neji’s eyes widen was that a dog…

Standing there growling was a large…golden yellow, dog, large sharp white teeth and drool dripping from it’s mouth before it stood up on it’s hine legs standing six feet tall it seemed. Neji swallowed, shocked and afraid before the dog jumped, crashing into the vampire who crashed against Neji.

The air was knocked out of him for a moment and jumped out of his skin as the vampire cried out in pain as the dog sunk it’s teeth into the vampires shoulder before pulling back, yanking him off of Neji suddenly…but he didn’t let go of Neji’s arm, completely yanking it out of it’s socket.

He cried out in pain as his arm was finally let go and the dog threw the vampire away. Neji stood there shocked as he held onto his limp arm as the dog stood up on it’s back legs again and turned back to look at Neji, his muzzle now splattered with blood.

“Run!”

Did…it just speak?

Neji was a complete loss of words and couldn’t move fast enough before the vampire was charging at him again this time the dog following grabbing at it’s legs and dragging it to the ground while someone grabbed Neji from around the waist and pulled him back.

“Get out of here.”

“S-Sasuke?” It was the only word he could get out before Sasuke grabbed his arm and forced it back into his socket. He cried out in pain before Sasuke lifted him up. “W-what are you doing?” Neji asked.

“He’s mine!” That growling voice was different and Neji looked back the vampire. He was no longer in what Neji assumed to be a human like form and instead he was covered in a black wispy smoke with red glowing eyes. It began to get larger, the large dog moving to stand between Sasuke and Neji, getting down and growling at the mass before what looked to be a large spider leg came out of it.

As if it was stepping out of the shadow a creature that was the bottom half of a spider and the top half of a human. It had several eyes and long sharp nails and large sharp teeth. It screeched loudly, and Sasuke set Neji down onto the dogs back. “S-Sasuke-“

“Take him home Naruto.”

Neji blinked, his eyes wide. “Naruto?”

“You sure you can take care of this?” Naruto growled out hopping himself a little to readjust Neji to saddle his back like a horse.

“W-wait what is going on?” Neji asked. “Y-you’re…Naruto?”

“Take him home.” Sasuke said pulling out a silver dagger.

“Wait-“

‘Naruto’ left no words to argue, running off towards Neij’s home. Sasuke launched an attack towards the beast just as the vampire tried to run after Neji.

‘Naruto’ headed towards his home and Neji looked behind him, noticing that the spider creature, despite Sasuke’s beast effort was still coming after him, destroying houses along the way. And Naruto was leading him right towards his house…Iruka’s house.

“W-wait. Stop. We have to go somewhere else.” Neji asked.

He wasn’t sure if ‘Naruto’ could hear him or not but he continued to run. He leaned forward trying to balance himself on ‘Naruto’s’ back to lean to his ear. “Uh…we can’t stay here in the neighborhood. If Iruka get’s caught into this…we have to…somewhere secluded…” But where…as he went over the closest place where no one would be. “The school.”

He leaned back as ‘Naruto’ leaned back at him, his eye a bright blue and Neji was beginning to think this really was Naruto…but why was he this huge dog…was he a…werewolf?

Naruto skidded to a halt, almost flinging off Neji of him. Naruto caught him just in time, tucking Neji into his arm before jumping out of the way of the spider vampire shot a web, instead getting it on a house. Sasuke jumped on the beast, effectively knocking it into the house almost destroying it.

“Where are you going!?” Sasuke yelled after them but Naruto slipped Neji back onto his back. Neji moved to yell back at Sasuke but instead found Sasuke running alongside of them, keeping complete speed.

“S-School. What’s going on…what are…you?”

“The question is, what are you!?”

He hadn’t even noticed that the creature was right on their tail and spat a shot of web at him. Sasuke sliced it just in time, jumping from the other side of Naruto.

What was he? What was this…thing talking about? “Here…”

He looked over at Sasuke who was ripping off a piece of his shirt, handing it over. “Tie it up.”

Tie it up? When Neji reached for the slip of fabric he remembered that his hand was in deed still bleeding and some of Naruto’s fur was splattered with it. He wrapped it up a few times before tying it up just as they made it to the gates of the school. Naruto jumped the gate easily with Sasuke staying on the other side. Instead of going inside Naruto helped Neji down before running off behind back.

“Go inside and hide.” Sasuke said. It seemed as if they had lost the vampire spider for the time being and Neji looked at him.

“Sasuke what is going on?”

“Go!” Sasuke snapped looking back at him. His teeth were sharp and his eyes were glowing red…he was a vampire.

Neji took a step back before running inside, pushing the door open and running through the halls. What was going on here? He wasn’t really sure where he was going as he ran through the halls but as he turned the corner, he heard a crash from the front of the school, making him wonder if Sasuke and Naruto were okay…but why was he suddenly worried about the two of them. He knew nothing about them…and that was suddenly very clear.

He stumbled, suddenly feeling dizzy. His vision blurred and he blinked a few times, looking down at his bleeding hand. He hadn’t gotten a blood fusion like he was supposed to…was this what happened when he missed out.

He pressed himself against the wall, trying to stable himself when a sudden crash in the window by his head startled him.

Naruto crashed in, scrambling himself back onto his feet before Sasuke crashed through the window as well. “Left.” He snapped grabbing Neji’s hand and running right. Naruto stood up, running to the left of the hall and Neji let Sasuke drag him.

“S-Sasuke…slow down…I don’t…I don’t feel so…well…”

There was another crash as they just turned the corner but Sasuke pressed him against the wall, covering his mouth and putting his hand over his heart. Neji swallowed, watching as Sasuke seemed to be listening out for something.

His eyes were red…a color Neji had never seen but also somehow seen before, but he couldn’t place where. He brought his hand up, wanting to push Sasuke away but instead Sasuke grabbed his hand, holding it against the wall. His blood was seeping through the cloth and he watched Sasuke swallow.

Neji could faintly hear Naruto fighting that thing and he wanted to ask Sasuke to help him…but he could not tear his eyes away from Sasuke. Sasuke removed his hand from his mouth and Neji blushed, noticing how close they were getting. “S-Sasuke-“

“Shut up.” Sasuke said leaning towards him at first looking as if he was going to kiss him but instead he moved towards his neck and before Neji could stop him sharp fangs pierced his neck. All at once, Neji gasped before feeling suddenly hot and flushed. The feeling of pain was replaced by a sudden feeling of pleasure and before he could help it, a moan escaped his lips.

“I don’t think-“

Sasuke pulled away and Neji brought his hand up to his bleeding neck as he looked at Kakashi, who was coming through the window with complete ease.

“-this is the right time for this.”

“K-Kakashi?” Neji asked looking at him, his eyes blurring for a moment before frowning. “What are you?”

Kakashi gave him an amused look, licking his lips. “It is an intoxicating smell, but you have to control yourself.”

“K-Ka-“ Neji tried but Kakashi turned his back to them.

“I think it’s time to end this here.”

Naruto turned the corner, clawing at the floor as he ran right towards them, the spider like vampire following him. Naruto continued to run towards them and Kakashi rolled up his sleeve. Just as Naruto got close enough he jumped over them and Kakashi launched forward, and what looked like one strong punch shot his hand through the things chest, yanking out and splattering blood on Neji and Sasuke as Kakashi held the heart of the creature in his hand. Moving out of the way as the creature fell over, screeching out in pain as it began to turn to stone before ash, the heart in Kakashi’s hand beating a few second before turning to ash as well.

Neji was shaking…not from fear…or amazement of what he just seen here or the fact that Kakashi’s eyes seemed to be glowing as well as the eye that he covered up all the time was actually a deep red with three black dots…like Sasuke’s…

He was shaking…because there was blood in his mouth. And it tasted…delicious. He could hear Naruto’s beating heart, pumping blood through his system and Neji was shaking as he licked his lips. He needed more…he wanted more…and he blacked out, Kakashi looking at him with a worried look.


	2. Chapter 2

He took a deep breath instantly wanting to sit up but was stopped. “Don’t move Neji.” Lee said.

Neji looked around as best he could. “W-where am I?”

“The hospital.” Tenten said.

“The…hospital?” He blinked looking at the two of them before Iruka came to his side.

“Neji, I was so worried about you.” Iruka said frowning, looking near tears.

“What happened?” Neji asked completely confused as to what was going on.

“You fainted.”

“Fainted…?” He remembered fainting… “Right…at school…”

“School?” Lee asked looking confused. “You fainted a block away from your house.”

Neji blinked. “What?” No…that was right. He hadn’t even made it home, clearly remembering running into that thing…Sasuke, Naruto…even Kakashi. He held his head. Was that…all a dream. “I…fainted?”

“You missed your blood transfusion appointment.” Iruka said looking a little disappointed before frowning. “Neji I was really worried about you.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to forget.”

“It was my fault.” Tenten said. “We were hanging out and…we fell asleep.”

“It’s not your fault.” Neji said. “I should have left earlier…sorry Iruka.” He looked at his hands. There wasn’t a scar…maybe it was a dream, but why did it feel so real. He had had dreams that felt so real that he couldn’t tell if that was the truth or not…but this one…felt incredibly real.

Iruka grabbed his hand looking at Neji with a frown. “I’m glad you’re safe Neji.”

“Yeah…” Neji said giving him a smile.

Iruka smiled, running his hand over Neji’s head before looking at the time. “I have to go to work…you have to stay the night, but I’ll be back before visiting hours are over.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll watch over Neji.” Lee said saluting while Tenten smiled.

Neji blinked. “Why aren’t you two going to school?”

“It’s closed.” Lee said. “There was a big earthquake this morning, wrecked most of your and Tenten’s neighborhood, even the school.”

“An…earthquake?”

“Thankfully you weren’t caught in it.” Iruka said quickly.

Neji looked at him before nodding. “I…I guess.”

“I’ll see you.” He leaned down, kissing Neji’s forehead before heading to the door. He opened the door and stopping short and Neji looked past him at who was at the door. “Naruto?”

“Oh…hey…” Naruto said stepping out the way. He was holding a bouquet of sunflowers. “I heard you were in the hospital and wanted to see you.”

Neji noticed a few things. Lee was smiling so hard that Neji was beginning to think he would break his face, Tenten looked annoyed, and Naruto looked like a sad puppy, but Iruka looked unsure as he looked at Naruto, like he shouldn’t be here. He looked as if he wanted to say something else but instead turned and walked away.

“Who did you hear that from?” Tenten asked giving Naruto a skeptical look.

“Kakashi.” Naruto said.

Neji looked up at him. “K-Kakashi?”

“Uh…yeah. The school called him about school closing and you fainting. I think they think you were a victim of this murder running around…you’re not right?”

“No.” Neji said. “I just…fainted.”

“Ino said something about you having some rare blood disease.” Naruto said before he held out the flowers.

“Thank you. And yeah…I skipped out on my visit yesterday.” Something he planned not to do again ever if he could help it.

He twisted his father’s ring around his thumb before Naruto grabbed his hand. “Nice rings.”

Neji frowned, Naruto’s hands were so warm and rough. Was it possible that it really was a dream…there was no way this kid was that beast from last night. “They are my parents. I use to wear them on a necklace around my neck but…” In one of his dreams, he had dreamt that he was a boy who had also lost his parents and wore his family rings like this, and he would admit he thought it was a cool idea. Or at least a nice way to remember his parents, feeling them on his fingers was a nice reminder that this was what he had of them. “I thought this was better.”

“It’s cool.” Naruto said with a small smile as if he knew something. “Uh, I’ll see you whenever school gets back in session.”

“Yeah.” Neji said watching as Naruto left.

When he was gone Tenten huffed. “He really likes you.”

“No need to get so angry, I don’t like boys.” Neji said.

“I’m not angry.” She rolled her eyes before sighing, crossing her arms. “I just think…he’s so weird.”

 “Tenten! That’s rather insensitive of you!” Lee said. “Just because Naruto is a homosexual doesn’t mean he is weird.”

Tenten huffed. “That’s not what I meant Lee! Where did he get sunflowers in this season anyway?”

Neji looked at the flowers, remembering a dream he had of lying in a field of sunflowers. It was one of his dreams that felt real but it had been so long ago that he didn’t remember much about it. Though he did remember in the field, he had not been alone. He remembered someone holding his hand while he laid in the field but he couldn’t remember who it was, or anything else about them.

“I like them.” Neji said holding the flowers. “Iruka loves them.”

He pulled off one of the petals and letting it drop. “I’ll go get a vase.” Lee said leaving. Neji watched him go before arms wrapped around him. “Neji…”

He looked at Tenten, who held him. “I’m very sorry I made you worry.” Neji said wrapping his arm around her. He pulled her into his lap. “I’m getting a blood transplant now.”  He looked at the bag before back at her. “I’m fine.”

She looked at him before kissing him. It was soft and he let her a little surprised when it ended as quickly as it did. She climbed off of his lap and headed to the door, locking it before looking towards Neji’s roommate in the hospital room. Neji followed her gaze.  Whoever it was they didn’t look like they would be waking up any time soon.

She headed back to his bed, saddling his lap before closing the curtains. “Ten, what are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” Tenten asked, unbuttoning her shirt and beginning to take it off. His eyes widen at the sight of her breast in the black and red bra.

He blushed looking up at her who was also blushing. “I thought I lost you Neji…” She said leaning forward to kiss him. She kissed the side of his lip trailing down to his neck going under his hospital shirt. He grabbed her hand and pulled away from her.

“Tenten, we’re in a hospital with a coma patient next to us.”

“I don’t think he’s a coma patient.” Tenten said.

“That makes it worse.” Neji said holding his shoulder and pushing her back some. “That means he can wake up any second now.”

“Neji I was scared.”

“So you want to have sex?” Neji blinked looking at her. “Tenten…I’m fine-“

“You fainted! What happens again? What if something worse happens next time?”

“I’m not going to miss another blood transfusion.” Neji said.

She frowned at him. “Do you not want to have sex with me?”

“Of course I do…but not here?”

She frowned, before beginning to get dressed. “Not here, not at my house, not at your house, when Neji?”

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

“We’ll be graduating in April!” Tenten said. “And you want to leave me and go to America.”

“I don’t want to leave you.” Neji said with a frown. “You can come with me.”

“You know I want to go Konoha University; you know that…”

He did, and with a sigh, he looked to the side. “I’m not…ready for that Tenten.”

She got her shirt on before climbing off of him, pushing the curtains aside. “I bet if it was Naruto you would be ready.”

“Tenten, you’re being a little unreasonable, and I already told you I don’t like guys.”

“Well you clearly don’t like me either.”

“That’s not true. I do.”

“I love you Neji.” Tenten said turning around to look at him.

“I love you too.”

“But are you in love with me?”

He opened his mouth wanting to say it back to her…but he couldn’t. With a frown Tenten turned and left, unlocking the door and bumping past Lee as she left. “Tenten?”

Lee gave Neji a questionable look before looking after Tenten. Neji sighed, rubbing his eyes. “What was that about?” Lee asked.

“I’m not really sure.”

“Neji!”

He looked up, Ino rushing in with Shikamaru following at a slower pace. “Guys.” Neji blinked. “What are you doing here?”

“We heard the news.”

“From who?” Neji asked.

“It’s all over the school’s social media page.” Ino said crossing her arms. “I can’t believe you skipped your hospital visit! What kind of president are you to do something so stupid?”

“Weren’t you the one that forced me into it?” Neji asked.

“Don’t listen to her.” Shikamaru said. “It was just surprising to hear, since you’re always so careful.”

“Yeah.”

Lee patted Neji shoulder. “It might just be that time my friend! Come this summer, it’ll be your eighteen birthday! You are maturing!”

“Mature people don’t miss their important appointments.” Ino said crossing her arms. Shikamaru sighed.

“You have your mother stance going, are you about to give him a lecture?” Shikamaru asked.

“I already got one.” Neji offered up.

“To late!” Ino said loudly. “I’m going to lecture the hell out of you till you learn your lesson!”

Neji sighed as she continued.

* * *

 

It was a while before Ino actually finished and even an hour later before Lee, Shikamaru, and Ino left. He only got a moment of peace before there was another knock on the door, this time, it was Sasuke. “Neji, can I come in?”

Neji felt his body heating up. Sasuke…the last time he saw him…or remembered seeing him was in his ‘dream’ (he still wasn’t totally sure about that), the male was drinking his blood and it was the hottest thing for some reason. He could remember the feeling, sending shivers over his spine and he pulled the tray table over his lap. Wait, was he getting aroused by the idea of Sasuke sinking his teeth into him? Was that an euphemism of some sort? Sasuke sinking his teeth into his neck like Sasuke sinking something else into him as well? Had he really just thought about that!?

“You okay?” Sasuke asked.

Neji shook his head. “Yeah…yeah I’m fine. Thanks for coming…I guess.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

For some reason that made him blush. “Y-yeah…I’m fine.”

It clearly went noticed as Sasuke smirked. “Look a little red there Hyuuga? You okay?”

“Yes!” Neji snapped before looking away.

Sasuke laughed. “The season soccer game is canceled.”

Neji looked at him. “Canceled?”

He nodded. “Yeah, because of the earthquake and this sicko around town.”

“I guess that makes sense.” He frowned. He had talked to the coach about getting scooted. He had sent a video of him on the field to the school he wanted to go to in America. Though he didn’t care much about getting into school with a sports scholarship, money was money so maybe he thought it was a good idea to have that in case. Besides he was pretty good and was sure he could get any soccer scholarship, any scholarship he wanted.

“You sound a little disappointed.” Sasuke said.

“I’ll have nothing to do after school now.” Neji said. “I already worked so hard to get it Iruka to let me do it, it’s just annoying when I can’t do it.”

“I’m sure you’ll find another way to break a sweat.”

Neji blushed. “W-what?”

“You and Tenten.”

“Not everyone is having sex you know!” Neji snapped.

Sasuke chuckled. “Who said anything about sex? Relax virgin, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Shut up.” Neji said looking off, his face flushed. “So what if I’m a virgin? I’m sure I’m not the only one.”

“Nothing wrong with being a virgin. Some people like dealing with someone who is untouched.”

“Can we change the subject!?” Neji asked while Sasuke laughed at him.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Neji looked up at the door as Sai closed it behind him. “Sai? What are you doing here?”

“I came to see my father.” Sai said. “And I saw your name on the door. Are you okay?”

“Just being stupid.” He was very popular today. How it amazing, it took him being hurt to get so many visitors. “What is your father doing here?”

“That is rather personal.”

“Oh…sorry.” He looked at Sasuke ho had stayed rather silent since Sai had entered. Sasuke was looking at him but before Neji could ask what was wrong he stood up.

“Get better soon Neji.”

“Oh…uh okay.” He wasn’t sure but he was disappointed to see Sasuke leaving, a feeling he had felt before when it came to Naruto leaving…but strange enough he hadn’t felt when Tenten left. If he remembered correctly he felt a little annoyed with her leaving like that but he didn’t want to linger too much on that.

Sasuke didn’t say anything to Sai as he left, pulling out his phone, heading towards the exit. Neji looked at him before looking at Sai. “May I ask what happened?” Sai asked.

“You can ask about me but I can’t ask about your father?” Neji asked. “That’s not fair…”

“It’s different.” Sai said. “I am asking you and you were asking me about my father. In this type of situation it is me-“

“I fainted!” Neji said just to shut up Sai. He could keep going on and on, Neji had seen it before and did not want to get into the idea.

“Fainted how?”

“I don’t quite remember….but they said because I missed my blood transfusion.”

“Blood transfusion…you do not sound convinced.” Sai said looking around the room. He stared at the male asleep in the bed next to Neji’s.

“Well I just don’t remember…”

“What do you remember?”

Neji looked at Sai. He looked rather interested. “I remember leaving Tenten’s house…and then everything else…”

Didn’t seem real. He looked at his hand, rubbing it before looking at Sai. He looked to be expecting something. “I just had a weird dream afterwards.”

“A weird dream….”

“Filled with Vampires and werewolves…it was crazy.” He shook his head.

“Are you sure it was a dream?” Sai asked.

“Vampires, werewolves, and things like that don’t happen in real life. This isn’t a movie.”

“You have lived a sheltered life Neji.” Sai said.

Neji blinked. “You believe in things like that?”

Sai nodded. “I believe that things hide in the shadow…can you tell me about you dream?”

“Why?”

“Curious.”

He guessed there wasn’t any harm in telling Sai. It was just a dream anyway. He explained everything to from heading home to running into the werewolf version of Naruto and Sasuke and Kakashi and the large spider monster that was after them.

“I’m just going to make sure I always go to my appointments. In the dream I fainted because blood got in my mouth.”

Sai looked at Neji with a blank face before smiling. “Sounds like an interesting dream…if it was a dream at all.”

Neji blinked. “You don’t think it’s a dream?”

“I stand with what I said that I believe in. I believe vampires and werewolves are real.”

“And you think Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi are a werewolf and vampires? You know how crazy that sounds.”

Sai shrugged. “It is hard to tell. If they are, they are very good at hiding it...but I am not surprised they would want to blend with humans…though I find it weird that they saved you instead of just killing you.”

Neji frowned. “Why would they do that? The vampire was after all of us.”

“From the way you said it was after you.”

“Because I’m…human I guess…do you think that the murder was a vampire this whole time?”

“Tonight if no one dies then yes.”

Neji didn’t like the idea of that…but the thought of vampire and werewolves being real…was odd. “Sai, why do you believe this so easily?”

“My brother used to tell me stories about vampires and werewolves…how dangerous and deadly they can be and about a rare cross breed that is somewhere out there.”

“A cross breed?”

“Half vampire, half werewolf. A danger to everything on the planet.”

Neji frowned, urging Sai to continue. If this was real or not, this was an interesting story none the less. “I didn’t think vampires and werewolves would have sex…let alone have a kid…”

“There is only one at a time.” Sai said. “Though werewolves and vampires usually don’t get along they do sometimes…mate.”

He caught the sound of disgust in the male’s voice but let him continue.

“This cross breed is supposed to be the strongest creature on the planet, especially when it finally matures to adulthood.” Sai said. “Luckily it is easy to kill when it is young, which is why so many have died already.”

“How many are there?” Neji asked.

“At a time one. But as soon as one dies, another is born as soon as the heart stops. So far, there have been fifty-nine different cases of half-bloods that have died and currently the sixties version of the half-blood is alive and is dangerously close to being full grown.”

“Scary.” Neji said more in a joking way. “Your brother told you this story…He believes in that stuff?”

“Do you still not? After what you saw last night?”

Neji blinked. He wanted to believe…but he was never into believing in things without proof. He must have looked unconvinced because Sai chuckled. It was fake and Neji could tell but he didn’t say anything as Sai stood up.

“I guess it is pretty hard to believe without proof.”

“Do you believe in it?”

Sai shrugged. “Stranger things have happened…I mean you were born without pupils.”

Neji narrowed his eyes. “I have pupils…”

“Oh…”

They settled into silence before Sai smiled. “Well, if you need proof, you can always test it out.”

“Test it out?”

“If they saved you once, they will probably save you again.”

Neji blinked. “That was just because a vampire was attacking me…and they were in the right place…and that was just a dream.”

“Right.” Sai said with a smile. “A dream. So Uchiha-kun, Uzumaki-kun, and Hatake-sensei are not dangerous creatures in are school, with our friends…with our love ones…looking for the half-blood.”

“You think…that thing is here?”

“If those three are not hunting for blood…then they are hunting for something else…Besides, it sounds as if Uzumaki-kun and Uchiha-kun have some…intimate feelings towards you, and you might have the same.”

“N-no I don’t!” Neji snapped way more defensive then he wanted to sound. He cleared his throat. “No…I don’t.”

Sai just nodded. “If you put yourself in danger, maybe one of them will come to your rescue…like in that book…Twilight.”

“You read Twilight?”

“I read a lot of books, I thought Twilight would be something more appropriate for someone your age to understand the reference.”

That sounded kind of insulting, but Neji decided to ignore it. “Goodbye Hyuuga-kun, I will see you in school hopefully if you do plan to go through putting yourself in danger and it does not back fire on you, and kills you instead.”

“I’m not really going to do anything.”

“Okay.” Sai said. “Get well soon.”

He nodded his head before left. Neji watched him go before leaning back. He already did something stupid…why the hell would he do something else as stupid as pretending to kill himself just to see if his dream was real or not…he wasn’t an idiot.

* * *

 

“I’m an idiot.” Neji mumbled with a sigh as he looked over the edge of the hospital roof. “I’m seriously fucking crazy.”

Though the fact that he had easily gotten up here was pretty crazy too. He sat on the edge, kicking his feet as he sat there before he sighed. This was a stupid idea. He leaned back, lying down on the roof top with his legs hanging off the edge.

He had no idea how Sai had talked him into this but maybe he was a little stupid to actually taking it to heart. The idea was that if he jumped Naruto or Sasuke would come save him since they ‘liked’ him so much, but that was crazy because vampires and werewolves aren’t real and that was a crazy dream, like one of his other crazy dreams.

But…hearing the story about the half werewolf, half vampire sounded familiar. Had he heard that somewhere before…but where would he hear that from.

“Hmm…a prince…a…half-blood prince…” He found himself saying without really thinking. Wasn’t that the title of a Harry Potter book?

He shook his head, sitting up. What was he doing? What was he thinking? This wasn’t a book…this wasn’t even real? He was actually thinking of jumping off the roof to prove a dream was a dream, and what would that accomplish? His death or serious injury?

He looked down at the alley below. How would either of them know he was falling either…how was it possible either of them would be close enough to catch him.

They will…

The idea came across his mind and planted on his heart…he knew that…it was almost a fact in his mind that one of them would catch him if he jumped right now.

He wasn’t sure why he was suddenly so sure that everything would be find if he jumped but he didn’t let his mind think on it any more before he was actually launching himself off the building.

His stomach dropped. Did he really just fucking doing this?

Before a sound could even escape his mouth he landed in someone’s arms. He let out a gasp, looking at Sasuke who landed on the ground before jumping back up, landing on the roof.

“What the hell are you doing!?” They both said at the same time.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean what I’m doing? You just jumped off a fucking building.”

Neji pushed away from him, scrambling away. “Holy shit…holy shit…this is real, this is fucking real.”

“Neji-” Sasuke approached him and a part of something inside of Neji told him to stand still and let Sasuke approach but instead he forced his body to back away.

He bumped into someone and he turned around, looking at the large blond werewolf who was standing on it’s back legs completely towering over him. A chill went over him.

“Jeez Naruto, scare the fuck out of him why don’t you.” Sasuke growled at Naruto, pushing him away.

“I scare him?” Naruto growled out. His voice was deeper and rougher but he could hear the part that was Naruto.

Holy shit this was real. He backed away from the two who were arguing before he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around afraid to see that spider vampire again. Instead he turned to look at Kakashi who crossed his arms. “So…what was that about?”

“What was…that about?” Neji asked. He stared at Kakashi completely at a loss for words. Two vampires…and a werewolf. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“You just jumped off a building.” All three of them at the same time.

“And I should be dead!? What the hell…that was supposed to be a dream, yesterday was supposed to be a dream.”

“Calm down Neji.” Kakashi said.

Neji looked away. He couldn’t believe this was real…Sai was right? “H-how…that’s not possible…”

“Neji.”

He looked up and saw Kakashi was looking at him with both his eyes. His left eye was still a normal dark color but the other was red with three black spots that were swirling around. “Take a deep breath.”

“No.” Neji said.

“Huh?” Naruto said behind him. Neji looked back at him as the large werewolf jumped over on all four, sitting like a dog and cocking his head to the side.

“Neji, look at me.” Kakashi said and Neji looked back at him. “Take a deep breath and calm down.”

“Calm down? The dream I thought was just a dream is actually not a dream! One of my classmates is a vampire and the other is a werewolf and my homeroom teacher is a vampire! And you want me to calm down?”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow before he closed his right eye. “Sasuke…”

“I’m not hearing anything.” Sasuke said.

Neji turned his head to look at him only to find the male looking right at him. He looked back before looking at Kakashi and then at Naruto. Naruto was looking at Kakashi before he met Neji’s eyes. “Are you…guys the murders?” Neji asked.

“No.” Kakashi said covering his eye again. “The murder is still at large.”

Neji blinked. That meant last night hadn’t been the murder…how many vampires were in this town. “Are you guys looking for him?”

“Sort of.” Kakashi said.

“We’re looking for someone.” Naruto said though Kakashi gave him a disapproving look.

Was Sai more right then Neji actually wanted. “Who? The Half-Blood Prince.”

They all looked at him. “How do you know that?” Sasuke asked grabbing Neji’s shoulder. “Did Iruka tell you?”

“Sasuke-“ Kakashi began.

“Iruka? Why would Iruka say something like that?”

“Who did?” Naruto asked standing up.

Neji looked between the two school boys. Should he tell them about Sai…what if they went after him. “He doesn’t know anything…it’s just a story.”

“Was it Sai?” Sasuke asked.

Neji glared at him. “I don’t know why you guys are here…or really care, but you can’t really believe it’s a good idea to stay”

“You want us to leave?” Kakashi asked.

“Of course I do.” Neji said. “You all were there last night, and you just said that wasn’t the killer! If there are more vampires, and you guys are hunting them for some reason, you aren’t doing a good job. All that damage that happened…Iruka could have died. Anyone could have died.”

“We don’t want that to happen.” Kakashi said. “We have reason to believe he is a vampire and we are looking for him. We don’t want anyone killed anymore.”

“We care about humans.” Naruto said reaching out to touch Neji but whined when the male turned away. “I’ll be right back.”

He ran off on all four, heading around the entrance way of the door. Neji watched him go before looking at Kakashi. He seemed to be in control here. “You care about humans…are you also planning to kill the half-blood then?”

“Kill him?” Sasuke said. “We would never do that.”

Neji frowned. He had learned from that that they knew who this half-blood was, but the most disturbing part of what Sasuke said was the fact that the raven vampire had confidently said that he wouldn’t kill the half-blood. Neji pulled away. “You would never…he’s dangerous.”

“Clearly…someone has gotten to you first.” Kakashi said. “Neji…it’s not what you think. The half-blood-“

“I don’t care!” Neji said waving his hand. “If you don’t want to hurt humans, then you shouldn’t be in school, you’ve worked there for how long _Hatake-sensei_ …and Sasuke we’ve been in school together for years…”

He had been with Sasuke for years…how was it possible that he had been with this kid the whole step of their education and he was now just finding out he was a vampire. It was also mind blowing on it’s own to hear see that everything he thought about vampires were wrong. Sasuke and Kakashi both walked in the sun light, and Sasuke even fucking grew up alongside him. It was like finding out that Santa was in fact real but everything you thought you knew about him was completely wrong!

“It can’t be safe to have you all here…right?” Neji asked looking at them before he heard bare feet quickly slapping against the roof top. He turned his head, his eyes widen at the sight of Naruto, back to his blond and blue eyed self, but completely naked and for a teenager…he was pretty ripped. His eyes trailed down Naruto’s beautiful tan skin, taking note that Kakashi was saying something to him but it was not getting through as his eyes went lower and landed between Naruto’s legs.

By no means was Neji a pervert. In the locker room after games when he showered he looked at no ones body but his own and had only see Tenten’s naked body when she tried to surprise sex him like she had tried earlier so it was a surprise feeling to feel a little light headed and flushed and the smell of blood coming to his nose.

He covered his nose with both hands. “Why are you naked!?” He snapped, looking away.

“Did you just get a nose bleed?” Kakashi asked.

Neji glared at him, trying his best to look serious as he kept his hands covering his bleeding nose. He never got nose bleeds, especially not from looking at anyone sexually (which he never did anyway!). “Get out of the city!” He snapped turning to hurry back inside. He made sure not to look at Naruto who didn’t seem to look to bothered by the idea that he was just standing their naked.

“And don’t come near me again!” He slammed the door behind him but didn’t head downstairs. He waited at the door, half expecting them to follow him before he moved his hands. He must have caught it early because there wasn’t any blood on his hands. He sighed, what was happening? Things seemed to be getting weird here.

Just out of curiosity, he opened the door to the roof, sticking his head out to look only to see Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi gone. He frowned, deciding to head back to his room. He faced two vampires and a werewolf all by himself and survived. Maybe they didn’t want to hurt humans…but how could they not if they were searching for this half-blood thing. And Iruka…why had Sasuke asked if Iruka had told him? Did Iruka know?

He shook his head, walking back to his room.


	3. Chapter 3

"I’m going.” Neji called as he slipped on his shoes, beginning to head to the door. He pulled it open as he heard running footsteps. He turned around just in time to see Iruka jumping, shutting the door and standing in his space.

He hadn’t talked to Iruka about the half-blood thing because he wasn’t sure he wanted him to worry anymore especially since the male had already held him hostage since he got back to the hospital till school was opened again. He hadn’t seen any of his friends since the accident so he was ready to get back to school.

He tried to keep the information he learned the other day out of his mind but his dreams had gotten a little weirder. They were still the usual dreams with his death at the end but not there were nightmares of this Half-Blood. It killing all his friends, destroying the world, leaving it completely nothing. But in these dreams it was as if _he_ was doing it himself. He was killing his friends, he was destroying the world, he was the Half-Blood, and it scared him.

But it was only a dream…they were only a dream and though one dream had turned out to be real, he didn’t want this dream to be real.

“What do you mean?” Iruka asked.

Neji looked over his adopted father. He was wearing nothing but a towel and looked as if he had just got out of the shower. “I’m going to school.”

“B-but you were just in the hospital.”

“A week ago.” Neji said. “I mean…you’ve had me in my tower since I got back.”

“But you fainted.”

“But I feel fine.”

They continued to look at each other before Neji frowned. He knew Iruka was over protective but…he hadn’t been this over protective since Neji had been a little kid.

“Iruka…I’m fine.”

Iruka continued to look at him before frowning himself. He took a step back, holding the towel up before hanging his head. “Neji…please be careful.”

“I will.”  Neji said. “Trust me, I don’t want that to happen again.”

Iruka nodded, kissing Neji on the forehead before wrapping his arms around him. “Oh! Neji…if something were to ever to happen to you, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Iruka, you’re wet.” Neji mumbled before smiling to himself. He felt the same. If anything were to ever happen to Iruka, he wouldn’t know what he would do either. “I have to go, I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

Iruka nodded, putting his hand on Neji’s head before letting him go. Neji smiled, closing the door behind him as he headed to Tenten’s house.

She hadn’t called him this morning about if she wanted him to come by early so he just decided to go at a regular time any other time. Pulling out his phone, trying to call Tenten while he thought about what about Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi. Had they really left? After the earthquake, the murder seemed to have disappeared after that…Neji imagined that they had taken care of it…and were now gone. He wondered if he should tell Sai that he had been right.

Again, Tenten hadn’t answered and he frowned as he approached her house. He knocked on the door spotting Tenten’s parents were gone. He knocked again. “Tenten…” He called out. Did she already go to school? But she always waited…what would make her want to go by herself.

He pulled out his phone again, calling Lee instead. Maybe she went to see Lee.

Again, he didn’t get an answer…but he wasn’t worried to much about that. Lee didn’t tend to have his phone a lot especially when he was at school and in the morning when he ran. But Tenten always had her phone and always answered it. It was weird to hear that she didn’t answer.

Maybe he should just…head to school.

He tried calling one more time, even knocking on the door a few times before he decided to walk away, heading to school while he got Tenten’s voice mail.

“Hey, cutie, you left your phone maybe, or maybe you lost it but I’m heading to school by myself.” He bit his lip not sure what else to say. “If…the hospital is still on your mind…sorry, but…the hospital was never a place I wanted to lose my virginity, as I’m sure you would as well. I’ll see you at school and maybe we’ll talk then, but you’ll probably won’t get this message till later. I love you.”

He hung up, looking at the phone before putting it in his pocket and heading to school but almost bumping into someone else. Jeez he really had to look where he was going.

“Sorry.”

He looked at the person with a hoodie on who was saying something but Neji couldn’t hear what he was saying. “What?”

He watched their lips move and he read them. He was saying numbers, the same numbers over and over again before the man turned and left. Neji watched them go before he slowly headed to school going over the numbers in his head. 0 3 5 6 8 7 4 5 8 6. What was that?

* * *

 

“Where is Kakashi?” Ino asked.

Neji looked at her before looking away, looking out the window. He had an idea why Kakashi wasn’t here (or Naruto or Sasuke) but he was more concerned with why Tenten and Lee weren’t here. He texted both but they hadn’t answered and he wanted to just call them.

“Maybe he got fired.” Shikamaru said.

“First day back after the earthquake and we don’t have sub for our class.” Ino said.

Neji looked at her before looking at Sai. He was reading a book (how to convey your feelings), but he hadn’t mentioned anything about vampires or werewolves.

Neji bit the end of his pen as he thought about where Tenten and Lee might be. They never skipped…so he couldn’t imagine that being the case. Neji was losing himself in his mind when the lights flickered off before turning back on for a moment before shutting off again. Everyone looked around and Neji assumed he should step up as president. “Guys I’m sure it’s nothing.” Neji said standing up. “The lights will be on soon.”

As if by magic the lights turned on as did the radio by the window. Instead of music the room was filled with white noise. “Jeez! Turn that off!” Ino snapped.

A student went over to try to fix it when the student next to Neji’s phone buzzed against the table.

He thought nothing of it before another’s kid’s phone went off, soon followed by his own and rest of the class’s phone buzzing to life. He pulled his phone out of his pocket looking at the forward text message from a number he was unfamiliar with. There was only one sentence.

_Watch the news._

“What is this about? Watch the news?” One of his classmates asked before a boy sitting next to him sucked his teeth.

“Probably some lame announcement about some idol.”

But a message sent to everyone in their class at the exact same moment. Neji didn’t look convinced and Shikamaru and surprisingly Ino shared his unconvinced look.

“It doesn’t even say which news.” Ino pointed out.

“I don’t think it matters.” Shikamaru said going to the computer at the back of the class and woke it up. Everyone moved to crowd around it, Ino pushing her way to his side. “Put it on the projector.” Neji said from his seat finding it easier if they just did that.

“Already ahead of you.” Shikamaru said as the projector turned on, lighting up and shining on the board. He was on a news site but something seemed to be wrong. Shikamaru didn’t get a chance to click anything before it turned on a video.

As the video took a moment to buffer, a timer counting down he stood checked the time on his phone before it phone buzzed in his hand. This time it was only his and it was Iruka texting him.

_Is everything okay?_

What was that about? Neji blinked before he heard a gasp next to him. He looked up at the board to see it was of a pale man sitting on what Neji could only describe as a throne made of human skulls as he sat with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He had long hair that went against his pale skin and when he opened his eyes they glowed for a moment before settling to yellow, snake like eyes.

 _‘A vampire?’_ Neji thought as he stared at the screen.

The man sat there in silence before he started to laugh. It was a deep chuckle that sent a fearful shiver over Neji. Everything around him seemed to become silent as they waited and listened. As if the world had stopped to watch this. He then finally spoke.

“The end of humanity starts with the beginning of a new race. A race far more powerful but finds itself hiding in the darkness with only the light of the moon to give us sight. But no longer shall this be. It is time, the day to come out of the light is now; the time has finally come with the discovery of our prince.”

Neji swallowed hard. This was not good. It was devastatingly clear that he was talking about the thing Sai was talking about and Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto hadn’t denied. And for some reason…the way it seemed those amber eyes just stared right at him made his heart beat speed up. But that couldn’t be possible, right? Why would he be looking at him?

“What the hell is this guy talking about?” One student asked.

“I know many of you question if this is real.” He closed his eyes again as the camera panned out to show that ten people were kneeling in front of him. They were tied up and blindfolded and all dressed in suits. “But it very much is. The human age is over and it is time for Vampires to rule!”

“V-vampires?”  A girl stuttered next to him.

Neji looked away from the screen to look at his classmates. They were all fully engrossed in what was going on screen. They all looked either scared or confused, except for one. Sai was staring hard at the screen. His usual impassive face was twisted in anger and his fists were clenched as he tried to keep them at his side.

“To begin, this new world order I will execute the leaders of your most powerful countries. From the president of France…to the president of the United States.”

“What!”

Neji stood up, like most of his classmates had at this point. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be possible. There were ten people in front of the man and he ran the list of the most powerful countries top ten most powerful countries.

 _‘The USA, the United Kingdom, France, China, Italy, Germany, Russia, India…and Japan.’_ He thought looking down. _‘This…can’t be happening.’_

“The first step in creating a new world,” Neji looked up at his voice to see the man’s nails had grown long and sharp talons. “You must destroy the first one.”

“N-No…”

Neji watched in horror as the man brought his hand up and with one hard sweep of his hand; his talons came down but stopped. “That is…unless my prince, my half-blooded prince calls me and orders me to stop.”

Orders him to stop? He wanted the prince to order him to stop. If the prince was watching this…he had to do something.

“Ne-“

He looked at Ino who had begun to say his name but Shikamaru grabbed her arm. Neji looked at them, they seemed to be talking to each other but Ino didn’t look too happy. She looked at Neji with a desperate frown but he wasn’t sure why.

The scene from earlier crossed his mind. When the guy bumped into him…the number he said. That was a coincidence wasn’t it? But…what kind of coincidence was that? It was a big coincidence if he thought so. This vampire asking the prince to call him the very same time he got the number. But that would mean…he was the half-blood prince?

He swallowed hard not understanding, looking at the phone. If he called the number…would this man pick up? He picked up his phone, remembering the number and entering it, a ball forming in his stomach.

He pressed enter, bringing the phone to his ear, afraid what will happen to the other end of the phone.

A ringing on the screen made him look up and he noticed the phone next to the man began to ring. The vampire smirked, picking up the phone and bringing it to his ear.

“Hello my prince.”

He heard it in his ear and the shock on its own that he dropped the phone.

“Hmmm….I guess that means do it.” With a smirk he brought his hand back up before swinging his nails down on all ten of their necks, detaching their heads from their bodies.

A girl screamed and Neji felt like he was going to be sick. He lowered his head and rested his hands on the desk. He tried to get his breathing together but the more he thought about what had just happened the more his legs felt like Jell-O and it was getting harder to keep standing. He answered the phone…he called him prince…w-was he the-

He covered his mouth, not wanting to throw up.

After a few gulps of air he forced himself to look up. The man was licking the blood off his nails with a smirk before he laughed again. “This is only the beginning. You can replace your leaders but you will lose in the end. Humanity will die at the hands of our prince.” He gave an evil grin as the light dimmed on him till only his eyes could be seen. “I only hope he makes the right decision.”

As the light cut off on him another one behind him turn on and this one had Neji gasping. There were two large cages hanging between two buildings behind him. In each of the cages there was a body lying down in the middle of it. They were far away but Neji could see them clear as day.

_‘No…Lee…Tenten!’_

“It’s your move Humanity.”

The broadcast shut off and everyone stood stunned at the screen. “Did that just happen?”

“It did.” Sai said at the door, where he shut it, locking it before he reached behind him and pulled out a gun pointing it right at Neji.

“Sai, what are you doing?” A girl asked.

“We all witnessed the same thing.” Sai said closing his eyes and smiling. “I’m not sorry Hyuuga-kun… you know I have to do this. Because of what you are, you have no place in this world.”

Neji put up his hands. “Sai…w-what are you talking about? I-I’m not-”

“I told you what will happen if the half-blood matures, please allow me to end this here.”

He pulled the trigger and Neji got ready to feel the pain. His ears felt like they were ringing from the loud bang and thecountinuous sound of a girl screaming by him, but he could feel no pain. He opened his eyes to see that Shikamaru stood up, taking the shot instead. The boy collasped on to his knees before falling back and giving Neji  view of the bullet wound straight between the eyes.

The girl continued to scream till Sai smiled at her. “Please stop screaming. I might just miss and hit you next.”

That stopped her but Neji couldn't beleive what he was hear. Was this really Sai? He looked up at the boy, staring at his blank expression. “Sai…”

“You just shot Shikamaru.” A student said.

Neji looked at her before looking at Ino. For Shikamaru’s girlfriend she didn’t look as upset as Neji thought she would be. She hadn’t even screamed and instead was standing with her shoulders square and standing between Sai and Neji. She seemed so brave compared to him…where he could barely stand and was thinking of allowing Sai to shot him in the head.

“Uh…troublesome.”

Neji jumped at the sudden voice, looking down as Shikamaru sat up holding his head. He put his fingers over the wound that was slowly closing before standing up and wiped the blood of his forehead. “That’s a good shot, you were going to aim at his head, but if you talked with your sensei you would know how that didn’t work the first time.”

Neji blinked. “Sensei…?”

“Yes.” Sai said. “I was assigned by my sensei to watch you in case you were ever come in contact with a vampire or a werewolf and in case it became clear that you would be a risk to humanity, I am to exterminate you.”

Shikamaru huffed. “Great minds think a lot I suppose.”

“I won’t let you leave here a live.” Sai said. “All three of you. It is my mission.”

Three? As Ino took a step forward, Sai pulled out another gun from inside his blazer, pointing it at her.

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” Shikamaru said. “Why don’t we start by letting these guys leave?”

“So now you care about humans.”

“Not all vampires have lost their humanity.” Ino said.

The smile on Sai’s face never left. “It’s funny how two walking corpses that drinks human blood says that they have not lost their humanity.”

“Walking corpse or not, I have no desire for humanity to die.” Shikamaru and Ino said at the same time.

Sai just chuckled at the same time. “Right because they are your food supply.”

“Because we can be friends.” Ino offered

“Never.”

Neji watched as Sai’s eyes widen slightly before he looked down. Shikamaru put his hand up as if he was holding two guns before he brought his hands together and began to mime that he was pulling the guns apart. What was surprising was that Sai was actually taking his guns apart as well.

“You can all leave.” Shikamaru said.

“That’s your talent is it?” Sai asked as he tossed his gun to the side as Shikamaru did the same. “You can connect our shadows and now I have to mirror your movement.”

“I’m glad you understand.” Shikamaru said as he crossed his arms and Sai did the same. The other students hesitated for a moment before rushing out the door, screaming but Neji stood still behind Ino.

“Shikamaru…Ino…”

“You can leave as well.” Shikamaru said.

“But what about you two?” Neji asked. “As soon as you let go…”

“Their hearts will be mine.” Sai finished for him.

Neji frowned looking at Sai then to Shikamaru. “You took a bullet for me.”

“And I still have to get it out.” Shikamaru said going behind his back and pulling out a kunai, Sai doing the same but coming up empty handed. “But one more thing going through my head won’t kill me.” He laughed. “But you…” He twirled the kunai around his finger.

“You can’t be…” Neji frowned.

“Do it.” Sai said. “There will be more of me.”

Shikamaru smirked before he threw it. “Wait!” Neji snapped but it was already half way there.

Instead of making contact as he thought Shikamaru leaned back to dodge his, Sai doing the same and hitting the wall hard behind him. Neji gasped before Shikamaru released his shadow and Sai fell, limp on the floor. “You…didn’t kill him.”

“I told you I have no desire for humanity to die, that includes any human that I can help it.” He sighed pulling out a pack of cigarettes and pulled one out before holding out the back to Neji. “Smoke?”

“No…you two…are vampires?” Neji asked.

“Yeah.” Ino said turning to look at him with a frown. “Sorry…we never told you.”

Neji shook his head. “Who else is a vampire here?”

“Just us.” Shikamaru said as he lit his cigarette. “We work with Kakashi.”

“Kakashi….what about Sasuke and Naruto?”

“They work with him too.” Ino said. “For your best effort.”

“My best effort?” Neji frowned. “So…I’m…the half-blood…prince?”

Before either could answer there was a loud scream could be heard. They all headed to the door, sliding it open and seeing a girl being attacked by a vampire. It bit into her neck, splashing blood all over the ones around her. Everyone was going crazy in the school as the windows being burst open as vampires crashed in, attacking students.

“We have to get out of here.” Shikamaru said.

“G-get out of here?” Neji asked. “What about the students?”

“Neji, our job is to protect you.” Ino said.

“We can’t leave them to be killed.” Neji said. “And Sai’s unconscious!”

Ino and Shikamaru looked at each other before Shikamaru sighed. “Fine.” He put out his cigarette before heading back inside the class room, picking up Sai and putting him into the closet, closing it. “He’ll be safe in there for now.”

Neji didn’t get a chance to say anything before Shikamaru and Ino were both in motion. Shikamaru stayed behind, his shadows shooting off the wall and yanking off the vampires off the students, slamming them away.

Ino jumped outside the window, attacking the vampires that were outside attacking students. They were quick, but outnumbered clearly. Shikamaru stayed close while his shadows shot out, attacking vampires that were inside. With a frown, Neji looked back at the closet wondering how safe Sai was in there.

“Little mouse.”

He turned around just in time to see a vampire behind him. He gasped for air noticing how close he was before a crash happened next to him by the window and he looked as Naruto crashed through, his large werewolf arm held out, grabbing the vampire by its head and smashing it into the wall, his other hand going into his chest and pulling out his heart.

“N-Naruto…” Neji said. He was relieved to see Naruto, his heart actually beating faster at the sight of him.

He yelped in surprise as he was lifted up bridal style, looking at Sasuke. “S-Sasuke!”

“It’s dangerous.” He said before he jumped back out the window.

“W-wait!” Neji gasped at the sight of the world around him. There were vampires everywhere, and things seem to be going to hell. Sasuke carried him away, Naruto following while Ino and Shikamaru continued to clear the school.

“Sasuke…what are you doing here?” Neji asked as Sasuke landed on a building.

“Did you honestly believe we would leave?” He asked.

He wasn’t sure if he did or not. And he didn’t want to say that he was relieved to see both Naruto and Sasuke here, but the feeling was there and something was dragging him towards the school.

Guilt…for having an escape when the students and teachers didn’t. As Sasuke prepared to jump away Neji squirmed in his hand. “No, you have to go back.”

“What are you talking about?” Sasuke asked trying to keep Neji in his arms. Naruto landed next to them before standing up as Sasuke let him go.

“You have to help them!” He snapped. “We can’t leave them to…to die.”

“Neji, the whole city is going under.” Sasuke said.

“What?”

“Vampires are going wild.” Naruto said, his voice rough. “They think you want this?”

He frowned. He didn’t want this. “W-why would…they think that?”

“Because you’re their prince.”

Neji looked past Sasuke and Naruto to see Kakashi landing on the same roof, but he wasn’t alone. “Iruka?”

Kakashi let him go and Iruka ran over. “Neji, I was so worried.” He put his arms around Neji before holding him back. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt are you?”

“I’m fine…what are you doing? With…him?” He looked at Kakashi who came over.

Iruka frowned, looking at him before looking at Kakashi. “Neji…well…”

“We need to leave.” Kakashi said.

“But the school.” Neji turned around only for Sasuke to pick him up again. “W-wait!”

Ino and Shikamaru joined them on the roof. “They’re coming.” Shikamaru said.

“Neji, don’t worry. They will take care of the vampires and make sure the students get to a safe place.” Kakashi said.

“Who?”

“Vampire hunters.” Ino said. “Sai must have alerted them before he pulled his gun. All the information on his phone was crashed and I connected with Roy, he’s on his way now.”

“But-” Neji began but Iruka grabbed his hand.

“Neji, I promise I will explain everything, but first we have to get somewhere safe.”

“Iruka, we have to go after this guy, he has Lee and Tenten.”

Iruka frowned, looking at Kakashi before smiling. “We have to get to safety first.”

With a frown, Neji nodded. It wasn't the answer he wanted…it wasn’t really an answer at all. Though Iruka did seem worried about Lee and Tenten he looked unsure if he should just say that they should go after this…man.

Iruka squeezed his hand for a moment longer before he went back over to Kakashi and jumped off, Ino and Shikamaru following while Naruto and Sasuke were the last to leave. Something told Neji to look back, possibly to get a last glimpse of the class and students in case they weren’t okay.

Through the large group of students running around outside trying to escape, there was one person on the roof standing there looking at him. His gut feeling told him it was Sai.

 


	4. Chapter 4

He would admit; he had no idea what he was doing. Kakashi wanted him to sit tight and wait till he heard word from friends of his and Neji could only think about the longer they waited the more danger Tenten and Lee were in.

The moment they got to safety, the moment Neji began to ask questions. “What’s going on? Why is this happen? Sai tried to kill me, and why do you know Kakashi!? When are we going to go after this guy who took Lee and Tenten?”

“Neji, that is a lot of questions.” Kakashi said.

“Well answer one!” Neji snapped.

“Why don’t you answer this question first.” Ino butted in. “Why are we in the sewers?!”

“It smells down here.” Naruto said covering his nose while Sasuke rolled his eyes.

“We’re all aware of the smell mutt.”

It was foul, and no one seemed thrilled with Kakashi’s idea to ‘hid in the sewers’ but at the moment he didn’t care about that question and wanted to know about his own. “What’s going on?”

“Neji…” Iruka looked back at him before scratching his head. “I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you sooner…we should have told you sooner.”

Kakashi looked at him before giving him a small smile. “When they don’t know, they live longer, and you Iruka were great at taking care of him.”

Neji frowned. “Taking care of me?”

Iruka blushed but he wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or anger. “Don’t make it sound like it’s a job. I wanted to take care of Neji because of Hizashi…too keep him safe.”

“Safe? Safe from what?” Neji asked. He stopped walking and frowned. “I’m not taking another step till I get real answers.”

Kakashi stopped leading and frowned, turning around and sighing at Neji. “I’m sorry Neji. I’m not being very clear am I?”

“No.” Neji said.

“Then I’ll put it bluntly. You are the Half-Blood Prince.”

“I’m…not human?”

“You are half vampire, on your mother’s side, and half werewolf on your father side.” Kakashi said.

Neji stared at him shocked. “W-wh…I’m supposed to…destroy humanity?”

“No.” Kakashi said chuckling. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. That’s only part of the story.” He continued to walk, Neji walking alongside him to listen to his story.

“A very long time ago, around the 1600s the first Half-Blood was born.”

“Shouldn’t you start somewhere else?” Ino asked.

Neji looked back at her before meeting Naruto’s eyes who was also nodding. “Yeah. That’s so long ago!”

“Start somewhere else? Like where?”

“What about the vision part first?” Ino said with a snap of her fingers.

“Okay, okay.” Kakashi said waving his hand. “Around the 1600s, Dracula’s youngest son-“

“Dracula?” Neji interrupted. “He’s real?”

“Very.” Sasuke said. “The first documented vampire, born Vlad III Dracula in the 1431 and became a vampire 1462, though no one knows how. He had four sons and four daughters…but the sons are important.”

“The daughters are important too!” Ino snapped. “I mean, at least they are still around.”

“Anyway,” Kakashi said loudly, stopping the two from bickering. “His youngest son had a vision, his power of sort.”

“Power?”

Kakashi sighed. “You know, each question you ask gets us off topic…some vampires, like myself, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sasuke have powers.”

“I though all vampires had powers.” Neji said. “Like…turning into bats…persuasion, stuff like that.”

“Things you see on TV aren’t real.” Shikamaru pointed out.

Neji nodded to himself. “I…guess so.”

“But somethings are.” Kakashi said. “Going back to Dracula’s children, they form their very own races per say. More like classifications. The oldest, Argon and twins Isabelle and Elizabeth have no powers. The middle children, Tibult and Mina are powerless but also cannot go out in the sun light. The last, and considered the superior classification, the twin boys Lucifer and Vamp and Catharina, have powers.”

“Ino said the daughters are still around.” Neji said.

“They are, though Mina is the only one who still goes by that name. The other three…don’t have memory of their past and have different names now. The twins Diva and Saya, and Catharina is Yuuki now.”

“What about the brothers?”

“Lucifer has been gone missing for years, but Argon, Tibult, and Vamp have been…taken down.”

“Killed?”

“No…they are alive. Just, not awake so to speak.” Kakashi said. “Anyway, Vamp, Lucifer, and Yuuki have the power of visions. Vamp see’s visions involving death, Lucifer sees visions of misfortune, and Yuuki see’s visions of good fortune. They all had a vision involving their mother, Victoria.”

“What was it?”

“Vamp saw his mother’s death by the hands of a dark mass that he couldn’t fully see besides a spot of red, standing over her dead body alongside Dracula. Lucifer saw all of humanity killed, again by the hands of this dark mass. Yuuki saw a world where vampires, werewolves, and humans lived together in harmony lead by a half vampire half werewolf, the same dark mass that her bothers saw. Naturally with any young child who saw his mother dead, Vamp told his mother.”

“What did she do?”

“She begged her husband to keep vampires and werewolves seperate, creating a large war between the two-“

“And the reason we have Vampire hunters in the first place.” Ino said.

“Vamp, Lucifer, and Yuuki had more visions involving this dark mass, different from before.” Kakashi said. “One vision of Victoria ruling the world along the Half-Blood, others of Dracula being the one to kill her.”

“But…why would she work with the Half-Blood if it would kill her?” Neji asked.

“The future can change. What they see are just possible outcomes, but they are not set in stone. It is all what can happen depending on the path taken. Which is what I’m trying to explain to you. You Neji, are the sixtieth version of the Half-Blood and when you turn eighteen years old, you will have unlocked all of your powers and the only person who can bring vampires, werewolves, and humans together. It is your destiny.”

“But…what about the guy that has Tenten and Lee? Who…who is that guy?”

“Orochimaru.” Sasuke said. “He works in Dracula’s effort.”

“Dracula?” Neji blinked. “He’s still around.”

“Asleep, like his sons. A continuing theme in the visions were their father killing their mother.” Kakashi said.

“He was never a good guy to begin with.” Iruka said with a shrug. “He was rough and mean to all of his children and his two wives.”

“Well if this is Vlad III…” Neji shrugged, it wasn’t hard to believe that he was a mean guy. “So what happened?”

“His sons attacked him and using Alchemy, stripped his souls into ten pieces, locking him away and hiding the soul pieces, keeping him from coming back to life.”

“Alchemy?” Neji blinked. “That’s not real.”

They all looked at him and he sighed. “I guess saying that doesn’t make since seeing as I’m hiding in a sewer with a bunch of vampires and a werewolf.”

“Orochimaru wants to bring Dracula back. He took revenge on the brothers, locking them away like their father, but only taking their hearts away.”

“Their hearts?” Neji asked. “Can’t that kill them?”

“Older vampires can go without their hearts. It is their weakness and most vampire old enough take it out and hid it away.” Kakashi said. “Iruka has my heart somewhere.”

Neji blinked. “Iruka? Why does he have your heart?”

He looked between them, Iruka was blushing while Kakashi smiled at him. “Are you two…together?”

“That’s not important right now.” Iruka said at the same time Kakashi spoke.

“Yes.”

Surprisingly enough that was the most shocking thing he had ever heard. “I-Iruka! You’re dating a vampire!”

Iruka frowned, scratching his cheek. “I…wanted to tell you all of this.”

He couldn’t think about that for right now, pushing the idea out of his mind. He was happy for Iruka, he thought the male would be alone forever, but their seemed to be more pressing matters. “Orochimaru wants to get Dracula back but why take Tenten and Lee?”

“Because of you.” Kakashi said. “In Orochimaru and Dracula’s eyes, you are a powerful weapon, waiting to be finished production.”

“If Orochimaru were to get his hands on you before we did, you would be working with him to bring back Dracula and take over the world.” Naruto said pushing his way to Neji’s side.

“Okay…who are you guys? I mean I know you…but I feel like I don’t know you.”

Ino and Naruto smiled, running ahead and throwing their hands up, turning around and looking as cheerful as possible. “We’re Red Shield!”

“Red shield?” Neji blinked.

“An organization in keeping to your protection and continuous support.” Sasuke clarified.

Neji nodded, crossing his arms. “So…you guys have been protecting me my whole life.”

“Yep.” Ino said. “Some of us are literally born to do it while others just came up on board.”

“Born to do it?” Neji blinked. “What do you mean to do that?”

“Sasuke and Naruto.” Shikamaru said.

Neji looked at him before looking at Naruto and Sasuke. “What about them?”

“Every Half-Blood is born with three protectors. A human protector, a vampire protector, and a werewolf protector.” Kakashi said.

“A protector?”

“They are supposed to grow up together and protect the half-blood.”

“More like love the half-blood!” Ino said giggling.

Neji blushed. “L-love the…what are you implying?”

Kakashi cleared his throat. “The half-blood and their protector have a certain connection.”

“What kind of connection?” Neji asked, his heart beating hard in his chest.

“You tell me.” Kakashi said. “You’ve known Sasuke all your life. Without thinking how do you feel about him.”

Without thinking. “I lo….” He choked on the words, coughing while blushing as Ino gave him a knowing look. He cleared his throat. “He’s a nice guy.”

“And what about Naruto?” Kakashi asked.

“I…don’t know him.”

“You say that thinking.” Kakashi said. “But I understand, it’s a lot to take in at the moment. But there is a connection, even if you can’t admit it to yourself.”

“What about this human?”

“That one his harder to find.” Kakashi said.

“Humans don’t really know the story of the Half-Blood Prince.” Iruka said. “So unlike Vampires and Werewolves who know the signs to look for, humans don’t.”

“How can you tell?” Neji asked.

“There is a mark.” Kakashi said. “All three have it.”

“So they just protect me?”

“At the moment yes, but after you turn eighteen…no one really knows what will happen after that. With your powers, that connection might change.”

“No one has made it to eighteen?”

“No one has made it to sixteen but you.” Iruka said. “You’ve have gone the furthest, and is humanities, everyone’s only hope.”

That was a lot to take in…but there was still something he couldn’t get off his mind. “He has Lee and Tenten, we have to save them…What was stopping this Orochimaru guy from just killing them?”

“Nothing.” Kakashi said. “He only has them for bait.”

“I thought your mission was to keep humans from dying.”

“There are always casualties of war.” Kakashi said looking at him frowning. “You should learn that quickly.”

The mood was suddenly different and Neji came to understand how serious this was. War. It did feel this way. After what Orochimaru did, the world had been thrown into chaos. He looked up towards the ceiling, murders were going on all around them in the surface; people dying and riots of all sorts breaking out on the city. But they seemed to be safe underground here.

“I hate this!” Ino snapped kicking some garbage. “Why do we have to be down here with the weirdo’s?”

“And who are you referring to?” Shikamaru asked moving to sit on an overturn crate with his legs up against the wall.

“Are you telling me I’m the only one who feels eyes on us?” Ino asked crossing her arms with a pout.

“No.” Sasuke said. “But you’re the only one complaining about it.”

Neji didn’t join in the conversation as he sat by the sewer water. He felt dizzy from the fumes it was giving off and sick to his stomach but he appreciated the break to collect himself. Kakashi wanted to try and get a call into his friend…Neji continued to worry about Lee and Tenten

He looked at Kakashi who was talking to Iruka in a whisper. It crossed his mind to try and figure out where Orochimaru was and go there himself but he had no idea what this guy was capable of.

Neji looked down before Naruto jumped up splashing into the sewer water making Sasuke growl at him as it splashed on him. Neji felt disgusted as well but Naruto seemed all around cheerful. “I’ve waited all my life to make sure you bring everyone together. And I’ll protect you with my life to make sure that happens.”

Neji stared at Naruto before he smiled a little. “Thank you.” He turned to look at everyone. “I…guess I should thank you all for…this.”

“Keeping you alive?” Shikamaru said. “It’s our job.”

“Roy will be here soon.” Kakashi said. “Then we’ll be leaving Japan.”

Neji looked at him before he frowned. Leaving Japan. He couldn’t without saving his friends. Though he wasn’t sure how good of an idea it was he had to get away from Kakashi and the others and make his way to Orochimaru. He had to save his friends…he had too.

“Again!” Ino growled turning to stand at the edge and lean forward. “Why don’t you show yourself you creep!?”

Neji looked towards the darkness before looking at Naruto. “Is there really someone down there?”

Naruto shrugged. “I can’t smell anything down here.” He rubbed his nose. “It smells too bad. I wonder when Roy will really get here.”

Ino sighed going back to stand by Shikamaru. “Every time I try to connect he cuts it. So he must be busy. I don’t know why we can’t just go without him.”

“He’s the only one that can get us to France after we get to China.”

“China?” Neji looked at Kakashi. “Can’t we just fly all the way to France?”

“France has closed its boarder but with Roy help, he will be able to slip us in on a military train.”

Neji nodded before looking at his hands. They were shaking…and his vision was getting a little blurry. He felt weird…a little faint, remembering that he had missed his blood transfusion. He was beginning to believe these transfusions weren’t for a medical illness but probably because he was half vampire. He remembered tasting the blood for the first place and it made him shiver. Did he actually need to drink blood?

He cleared his throat before sitting up, pushing the idea out of his head. He noticed Iruka was giving him a worried look as he whispered to Kakashi who was also staring at him. He took a deep breath trying to calm his nerve when he felt something wet hit his leg.

“Naruto…can you stop splashing around?” Neji asked as polite as he could.

“I’m not.” Naruto said as he was on his hands and knees sniffing something in the corner.

Neji looked back at him before a hand wrap around his ankle and he was dragged down into the water. Sewer water rushed into his mouth as he tried to get a breath of air as he was dragged through the water. He could feel the water burning his throat and lungs before he was pulled out of the water and thrown against the hard the concrete floor.

He coughed up water trying to get it out of his lungs before he was grabbed by his hair. “This is the Prince! The one who caused this!”

There was a crowd cheering and he opened his burning eyes to see that there were a lot of people. He coughed more water as the one hold him let him go. “We should drain his blood!”

Before any of them could move to agree there was a sudden deep growl and he looked at Naruto who stood on all fours over him. His fur was dripping wet as he growled at all of them to keep away.

“And what were you planning to do?” Kakashi asked as the others joined them to stand around Neji.

“You’re the creeps.” Ino said. “What the hell do you think you are doing?”

“This mistake!” One of them stepped up and pointed to Neji. “He’s the reason we have to hide down here in the sewer while our people are getting murdered! If he wasn’t alive we still would be able to live!”

“You can still live.” Iruka said. “Kill him is only going to make things worse.”

“He’s right.” Shikamaru said. “Now that we are out we have to keep him safe till he can put the plan in motion.”

“What plan? For vampires, humans, and werewolves to live happily ever after; this isn’t some fucking story book! This is real life and in real life it’s the survival of the fittest.”

“Enough.” Kakashi warned. “You are either with us or against us. You will have to choose sides soon.”

“My side is chosen.” Neji looked at who he believed to be the leader of the group. “And I choose to see werewolves nothing more than dogs” Naruto growled lowly. “And humans nothing more than food.”

His eyes looked at towards Iruka and Kakashi stepped forward. Neji looked at the tension building between the two before looking around at the others standing with them. He studied their faces before one of them stuck out to him. A girl. She looked out of place there, as if she didn’t belong among the people hiding down here. She had violet hair in a short, spiky, fanned ponytail with light brown, pupil-less eyes.

Neji stared at her and she met his eyes before she had a pained look on her face. She looked away panting lightly before she put a hand over her heart.

“It’s not safe here.” Sasuke said.

“It’s not safe anywhere!” One of the vampires snapped with the others agreeing.

Neji looked around. It suddenly seemed like all of them were angrier than they were only a few minutes ago. There was hate in their eyes instead of fear and they only seemed to be getting angrier by the second.

“And look at his hair! It’s too long to be a boy!” Another one snapped.

Neji blinked. “W-what?”

“What the fuck does that have to do with anything?” Naruto growled.

“And that nose! And those lips!”

“You aren’t making any sense.” Ino snapped. “God, you guys are so annoying! It’s making me upset.”

Neji looked at her. She really did look angry and by the sound Naruto was making he was too. Why were they getting so angry? Neji stood up and looked at Kakashi as he argued with the leader. And Ino was yelling at a group of them talking about the smell. It looked to have moved on from him to just random things like the smell of the sewer or the color of the unnatural blond hair Ino and Naruto had or the crack in the wall that Sasuke just found so annoying he had to yell about.

“So, it really doesn’t work on you.”

He looked at the young girl who moved out of the crowd and walked towards him. She walked past Naruto who didn’t even seem to notice her and Neji took a step back. “W-who are you?”

“You want to save them don’t you? Your friends?”

Neji stared at her surprised that she would say something like that. “Yes. I do.”

“Then come with me.” She turned her back and looked at him. “He’s expecting you.”

Neji looked at Kakashi who was still arguing. “What…did you do to them?”

“My talent.” She crossed her arms. “I can alter people’s emotions, right now everyone is blinded by anger…so to speak.” She turned and jumped down into the sewer water. “Now come along, he won’t wait long.”

Neji watched her go before frowning looking at Kakashi. He had to save his friends…but he couldn’t just leave without saying anything. It was clearly a trap, so it was best to have some back-up while when the others got back to their senses…hopefully when they did get to their senses. He took off the ring on his father’s ring, slipping it onto Kakashi’s ring finger. Hopefully that would be a good enough clue. He jumped down into the water and followed her.

* * *

 

He followed the girl up to the city and away from the crowd of mayhem. There was a car waiting for them and she opened the door to him. “After you.”

He looked at her before he slipped in seeing that he was not alone as the girl slipped in next to him. “What a horrid smell,” he looked at a girl. She had fair skin with glowing blue eyes and long dark hair. She was holding her nose and was glaring at him. “Hiding in the sewer like rats, how unsightly for a prince.”

“You came here without your followers. How odd.” The girl next to him said before the other girl growled.

“Are you talking to me?”

She looked away and Neji stared at her. “You’re…a vampire.”

She smiled. “Of course ‘Your Majesty’. And you look thirsty.”

“N-no…I’m fine.” Neji said not sure he wanted to jump into drinking blood right away.

She chuckled flipping her hair. “A virgin at both sense of the word I see.”

Neji blushed lightly before looking away. They were moving towards a large skyscraper as they pulled into an underground garage before they pulled up to an elevator where the door was opened. “Welcome to your new home ‘Your Majesty’.”

Neji looked at her before he slipped out of the car and saw men lined up on either side of the door wearing suits as he walked towards the elevator. The doors opened and standing there was a man with jet black hair that was brushed back with a mustache and a beard with red eyes. He was wearing a purple suit. “Your Majesty, an honor to meet you at last. My name is Amshel Goldsmith, and I will get you ready for your audience.”

He bowed to Neji along with the others around him as well. He took a deep breath before swallowing hard and looking at Amshel with determined eyes. “Take me to him.” He growled trying to sound meaner then he sure he looked.

Amshel smirked. “Such determination. We must get you ready first.”

He held out his hand to Neji and the Halfling frowned looking at it before he took it slowly.

* * *

 

He only wanted to see Orochimaru to get his friends back, but it was clear that wasn’t going to happen until he was presentable. They left him to get a bubble bath in a big tub full of water that made the room smell like lavender.

He sat there a while really trying to understand what he was doing here; remembering that he was here to save his friends, to keep them from being killed if they weren’t already. He shook his head glaring at the water. He couldn’t think like that. They were still alive, they had to be.

He stood from the water with a sigh, feeling warm water trail down his cold body. He shivered feeling unusually cold.

“You are a beautiful specimen.”

He quickly let himself drop into the water and he turned his head to see a man with fair, blond hair with light greens eyes. He had his hands up in surrender as he was wearing a white suit with a blue rose. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Neji stared at him weary before watching as he put down some clothes. “I brought you your clothes, everyone is waiting.”

He headed to the door and stopped. Neji felt himself tense up as the man turn his head a little. “You…shouldn’t have come here…he’ll never let you go.”

With that he opened the door and left. Neji waited before he slipped out of the water and hurried over to the clothes waiting for him. He dressed quickly in black shorts with a white button up under a dark blue vest. He slipped on the stockings that were left for him before he slipped on the boots. He picked up the tie for his hair and the tie for his neck when the door opened.

He looked up, seeing the blond again. The man, he was holding up a long tan tail coat which he helped Neji put on and helping him with the tie that matched his burgundy stockings. “Who are you?” Neji asked.

“My name is Solomon Goldsmith.”

Neji looked at him. Goldsmith…like Amshel, but something about Solomon calmed Neji; he seemed so out of place here. “Why are you here?”

“I live for Diva.”

“Diva…She’s one of Dracula’s daughter…She works with Orochimaru?”

He nodded. “Yes…Diva, my maker…has a common goal with Orochimaru.”

“Maker? You weren’t born a vampire?”

“Oh no.” Solomon said. “Diva created turned me into a vampire.”

Neji rubbed his chin. So that was true. Vampires created other vampires…he continued to ask questions.

“Just Diva? Not her sister Saya?”

A calm look crossed over Solomon, and his lip twitched with a smile. “No…Saya…is against Diva.”

Every time Solomon spoke Neji continued to wonder why he was in Diva’s side. “Why would you warn me about being here, if Diva is your maker.”

Solomon chuckled lightly. “Yes, I suppose that is odd of me to do.”

He followed Solomon out of the bath room and down marble hall. This didn’t look like how he expected it to look like. It felt more like a mansion then a skyscraper tower. His boots were clicking on the floor as he followed Solomon to a door.

“I have to save them.” Neji said quietly. “This is why I’m here.”

Solomon frowned before opening the door for Neji, letting him walk in.

“All hail, His Majesty.” Orochimaru said standing by the window that overlooked the city below. The room looked that of a ball room with it filled with Neji could only guess were vampires. They all bowed to him as he walked towards Orochimaru.

“As lovely as ever.” Orochimaru said with a smile.

“Where are they?” Neji asked standing in front of Orochimaru.

His smile got wider as he stared down at him. “My, so eager to get to the point. You don’t look too well, would you like something to eat.”

“Let them go.” Neji snapped.

Orochimaru snapped. “I am at your humble beck and call. Whatever I do, I do for you, to strengthen your resolve.”

The lights dimmed and the curtains of the window moved and Neji gasped as he saw Lee and Tenten in oversize cages. They were hanging from chains that trailed in through the open slots of the window and tied to a column that stood in front of the window. He walked up to them before he felt something cold against his wrist but didn’t look at what it was. He couldn’t look away from the two of them.

“The only way you will grow is if you let go.” Orochimaru walked past him, his nails extending before he sliced it down, cutting through the chains.

“No!”

Neji rushed forward reaching for the ropes. One of them slipped through his fingers as he wrapped his hand around the other, finally noticing something was holding his other arm back, keeping him from grabbing the other chain. He watched in agonizing horror as Tenten’s cage fell, her screams filling the air.

Tears filled his eyes as he tried to keep a good grip on the chain that was keeping Lee in place. His other hand stuck behind him by chains, keeping him from going any further forward. He was stuck.

“My, what strength you hold for such a small frame.” Orochimaru’s voice said behind him. His arm was shaking as he was trying to hold Lee; the chain slowly slipping through his finger. “But how more can you go on.”

He felt a tongue on his neck and he flinched. “D-don’t.”

Orochimaru hissed in his ear. “I understand the need. You’ve lived among human so you think you need to keep them safe.” Orochimaru chuckled moving his tongue up his ear as his hand pushed under his coat and gripped his hip. Neji tighten his hold on the chain, feeling it dig into his hand. “But this is the first step to letting that go. Letting go what is only holding you back.”

“T-they…they…they don’t hold me back.” Neji snapped blinking his tears away. He pulled the chain hard, trying to get Lee higher but it was getting more and more difficult. He couldn’t save Tenten…but he had to save Lee.

“He does.” Orochimaru brought his hand up to his chin. “But it is easy to just…let…go.” Orochimaru leaned closer before he pressed his lips against Neji.

Neji gasped unsure of what to do before he felt his hand loosen and the chain slipped. He gasped pulling away trying to reach for it again but it was just out of his reach. “No!”

Lee’s cage fell, and Neji’s heart dropped into his chest. “Embrace the pain Neji.” Orochimaru said, as Neji dropped to his knees. “Embrace it and learn from it…”

His eyes were clouded with tears again and he hung his head, feeling dizzy…Lee…Tenten…

“I’m not sure if you get this stubbornness from your father, or your mother.” It took him a moment to recognize the voice he looked up just as the glass window broke open and Kakashi came crashing in with Ino, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Sasuke.

“But I got your message.” Kakashi said holding his ringed finger up.

“You…” Orochimaru growled. “I thought you were dead.”

“You can never kill me.” Kakashi said. “I would think you would know that by now.”

Neji looked up before his eyes began to blur. Orochimaru and Kakashi rushed towards each other but his eyes began to get heavy and he leaned against the floor before he felt someone next to him. “Neji, Neji get up.”

“N-Naruto…”

“Here…drink this.”

Naruto held something to his lips but Neji moved his head away. He could smell it. The smell of blood that made his stomach twist. “I-I’m okay.”

Naruto growled letting Neji lie down. “You need it Neji.”

“I’m…okay.”

“Shit!” Naruto cursed. “I hope you’re not always this stubborn.”

Neji opened his eyes and looked at Naruto who drunk the small bottle of blood. Neji opened his mouth to ask what the werewolf was doing before he suddenly felt lips on his. His eyes widen as he felt Naruto holding his chin as he lifted Neji’s head to get better access. His other arm wrapping around Neji’s arm holding him close.

He felt something slipping into his mouth, the taste of copper hitting his tongue and without much thought he swallowed, feeling a pulse run through him and as more filled his mouth he swallowed it all before he felt something else against his tongue. Naruto’s tongue moving against his and the werewolf tighten his hold around him before he pulled away.

Neji was left breathless as Naruto looked down at him. “Are you better?”

At first Neji couldn’t answer. He could only stare at Naruto, those bright blue eyes just drawing him in. Then it clicked to him that he felt wide awake. Before he could answer, Naruto stood up and grabbed Neji’s hand. “Hold me tight.”

Neji nodded holding onto Naruto began to change, fur growing from his splitting skin, as the bones cracked and became long as he turned. He lifted Neji up, breaking the chain that was holding him back putting him on his back. “Don’t let go.”

Neji nodded, tightening his hold around Naruto’s neck before he jumped out the window.

* * *

 

When Naruto finally landed, they were in an abandoned airport hangar. He put Neji down on his feet, nuzzling his muzzle against Neji’s head before running off. “W-Wait.” Neji yelled after him as Naruto rounded the corner, most likely going to change.

“Neji.”

He turned around at the voice not recognizing it but freezing as he spotted who was standing there. “D-Dad?”

It had to be his father. The man looked exactly like him, though he frowned when Neji call him his father. “Sorry. I am not your father. I am your uncle.”

“Uncle?” He didn’t even know he had an uncle…let alone one that looked so much like his own father.

“Hiashi.” Hiashi said nodding at him. “I am your brother’s older twin.”

“A twin…It’s…nice to meet you.”

Hiashi frowned, looking a little awkward standing there, but Neji felt awkward too. He didn’t know he had any family on either of his parent’s side. He couldn’t help but ask: “How come you didn’t take me in?”

Hiashi flushed a little, looking away. “I’m…sorry.”

“It’s my fault.” Kakashi said.

Neji turned to look at him as he came over with Iruka. “I thought it would be best if you weren’t with someone average and unknown like Iruka.”

“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to.” Hiashi said. “Your cousin has wanted to meet you for years.”

“My cousin…”

Hiashi nodded before looking up as a plane approached. They moved out of the way, allowing it to land in front of them before the doors opened. Sasuke, Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru joined them and Kakashi headed towards the plane, the others following. Inside there was a man waiting inside with dark hair and eyes. He smiled, hugging Kakashi and patted his back. “I didn’t think you would ever make it.”

“We had a slight problem.” Kakashi said patting his shoulder before letting him go and let Neji in. “Neji, this is a friend, Roy Mustang.”

Neji looked over the male. He wasn’t too pale but he didn’t seem like a werewolf either. “Are you human?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“One of the few in our causes.” Sasuke said walking by to get on the plane with the others following. “He uses alchemy.”

Neji looked back at Roy who was smirking. “It’s really nothing.” He said running his hand through his hair before snapping his fingers while he was wearing gloves and just like a lighter, a small fire appeared on his finger.

Neji’s eyes widen. “Wow…that’s amazing.”

Roy chuckled. “I know.”

“Okay, we must go.” Kakashi said closing the door. “Roy, you can fly this right.”

“Yeah, it won’t be that hard.”

They went to the pilot seats and Neji sat down by himself. He wanted to be alone…wanting to come to terms with just happened. His friends…they were dead…and he had been unable to do anything about it. He put his hand over his heart, feeling it beat hard and he couldn’t keep the sob from leaving his mouth. He couldn’t save them…how was he supposed to save everyone in the world if he couldn’t save two people…


	5. Chapter 5

They made it to Xinjiang, China without a problem and Roy managed to get them onto the train without being seen.

“Thank you for this.” Kakashi said.

“We are all fighting for the same cause.” Roy said. “I’ll be in the front.”

Kakashi nodded and they got on the train.

Neji sat back in the soft seat letting out a breath as Ino sat next to him. “You must be thirsty.” She held out a bottle of water.

“What? No blood?” Neji asked rolling his eyes as he took the water bottle.

“It wouldn’t be appropriate to drink that yet.” Ino said crossing her legs. “But as soon as we start moving well enough away from Xinjiang we’ll get you some.”

“I don’t want any.” Neji looked off to the side.

“You need it.” Shikamaru said sitting across from him. “The amount Naruto gave you won’t be enough.”

Neji blushed cleared his throat changing the subject. “Thank you…for saving me.”

Shikamaru looked at him before he nodded. “Ah…how can I forget?” He put a hand to his head.

“Is it still there?” Neji asked as Shikamaru nodded again.

“As soon as we get to The Zoo, a doctor will take it out but until then don’t expect me to think as quickly as I normally do.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ino said waving her hand. “Blah, blah genius boy. Don’t make everything about you.”

He sighed. “And how am I making everything about me?”

“By talking about being shot. You’re the one that took the bullet.”

“I don’t see you trying to get in front of any bullets.”

Neji watched the two argue before he looked at the door where a girl ducked out of view only to be pushed back into it. She stumbled and blushed, staring at Neji with wide eyes like his own. Hiashi also came into view, opening the door. “Neji, may we speak to you.”

Neji nodded, leaving with Hiashi and looking at a girl who stood by him. She was cute and young, maybe fourteen or a little older. “Neji, this is your cousin Hinata.”

“N-Nice to meet you.” Hinata said with a blush.

“Hinata…nice to meet you.” The same eyes, same pale skin…big breast. He looked away from Hinata to look at Hiashi. It was unnerving to see his father’s face on someone else. Different voice…different aura…same face. He suddenly wanted to see Iruka…he didn’t want to be in front of them anymore…it hurt his already hurting heart.

“Nice to meet you…” He said again not sure what else to say. Hinata frowned, holding her hands in front of her before looking down.

“Iruka is in another car.” Hiashi said.

Neji looked up at him. “S-sorry…I don’t…”

“It’ll take time.” Hiashi said. “We understand…we just wanted to let you know that we do have a family in us.”

Neji nodded. “T-thank you…I am happy to see you…”

Neji smiled at her before turning to leave, heading towards Iruka. He wanted to see him…but he also didn’t want his heart to hurt anymore. He was happy to see his blood family…but looking at his uncle reminded him of his own father who was dead…and thinking of death…made him think of Lee and Tenten. He tightened his hand on the door leading to the other car. He…couldn’t save them. He killed them right in front of his own eyes.

It played in his mind over and over again. He could have convinced Sasuke or Naruto to come with him; he could have listened to Kakashi and Iruka and drank blood to get stronger. He could have saved them all. All three of them if he was just fast enough.

He could feel the other two chains slipping through his fingers as he grabbed for them. His fingers still burned as he tried to hold on to the chains for dear life.

He closed his eyes and headed to the next car. Roy was able to get them into the last four cars of the military train although Neji wasn’t sure why they need four. Kakashi had told him that they would be joined by others along the way.

He stumbled as the train car bounced around lightly and he leaned against the wall, feeling a little dizzy. “Are you ready now?”

Neji looked up at Kakashi who was smiling at him. Neji looked down. “So I have a choice.”

“Since you are a half-blood you don’t need as much…so you can go days without it. But it’s been a long time since your last transfusion. If you drink straight from the source you be able to last longer.”

Neji nodded and followed Kakashi to another room. Iruka was sitting reading a book before he looked up and smiled at Neji. “How are you?”

“I’m…okay.” Neji said looking down.

Kakashi sat next to him and rubbed his hair before he pulled out a book. “Every vampire is uneasy at first at the thought of drinking blood.”

Neji looked at him. “Were you?”

“Let me rephrase that…created vampires have a hard time the first time. Even though you were born half vampire, you lived off transfusion for blood. But…that is no longer an option, you have to drink from the source. Without human blood we grow weak and that is something we don’t need at the moment.”

“I understand.” Neji said. “If…I had just drunk the blood…I could have saved them.” He tightened his fist as he looked down, tears coming into his eyes. “I could have saved Lee and Tenten…but I was weak.”

He sat there crying before he put his hand over his eyes. “I couldn’t save them.”

“But you can avenge them.” Kakashi said. Neji looked up at Kakashi who reached over and cupped Iruka’s face. “Keep living and let this empower you to never give up.” Kakashi moved over to sit next to Iruka and for the first time Neji saw Kakashi’s fangs as he got closer to the older man. “You don’t have fangs, so I’ll give you a clear path…just don’t drink too much.”

Neji sniffed and nodded rubbing his eyes. Kakashi pushed Iruka’s head to the side as he moved closer and opened his mouth. He licked over his neck making Iruka shiver. Neji looked at Iruka’s face; he was flushed and opened his mouth to stay something but Kakashi went to his ear. “Shhh, just relax.”

Neji watched with interest as Iruka’s eyes clouded over as he relaxed against Kakashi. “What happened to him?”

“He doesn’t like when I bit his neck.” Kakashi said. “So I had to gently persuade him to relax.”

“Is that your power?”

Kakashi nodded before biting into Iruka’s neck. The moan that slipped from Iruka’s mouth was nothing Neji had ever heard before (or really wanted too, that was his adopted father for goodness sake) but he remembered when Sasuke bit into his own neck and blushed.

“D-does it always feel really good to…”

Kakashi nodded, moving out the way. “It’s the saliva that seeps into the person system, kind of like a sedative. Instead of pain, they feel pleasure…lust.”

Neji blushed before Kakashi bit down on Iruka’s neck and the small room was filled with the sound of a moan. He looked away feeling like he shouldn’t be here when Kakashi pulled his mouth away and another sense was flooded. The sudden smell of blood had his mouth watering like never before and he swallowed, looking at Iruka’s neck. Blood was slowly oozing out and Kakashi ran his finger up the trail, collecting some of the blood and holding it out to Neji.

“It’ll be cold like this, but from the source…” Kakashi said.

Neji looked at the blood on his fingers and he wrapped his lips around them, sucking the blood off the digits, running his tongue over them before his rational mind reminded him of what he was doing. He pulled away quickly blushing. “S-sorry.”

Kakashi laughed. “It’s fine.”

“Kakashi…” Iruka growled coming to his senses. “My neck…”

“It’s an easy access point. Come Neji, before it clots up and that’s not very taste.”

Neji swallowed and moved closer trying to keep his balance on the speeding train. Iruka sat up and turned his head away, to give Neji full view of his blood. “I’m sorry.” Neji whispered as he got closer. It smelt so good, blood never smelt this good to him before.

“It’s fine.” Iruka said. “This isn’t forced; I want you to do it.”

Iruka wanted him to do it, so it was okay, but why did it still feel so wrong, like he was losing his humanity as he put his lips against Iruka’s neck and sucked against the fresh wound, blood filling his mouth. It tasted sweet against his tongue and he licked over the marks.

“Sweet right?” Kakashi’s voice made him open his eyes and look at Kakashi without removing his mouth for Iruka’s neck. “His blood type is O negative, which is relatively sweet compared to other types.”

Sweet, so sweet. Neji cupped Iruka’s head as he sucked harder. It tasted so sweet. He closed his eyes trying to break the spell that was keeping him drinking Iruka’s blood. He pulled away gasping, watching the blood continue to run before Kakashi put his hand over it. “I’m impressed Neji, I was afraid you wouldn’t stop till Iruka couldn’t move at all.”

“S-sorry.” Neji said before Iruka held out a handkerchief which Neji took and put over his mouth feeling weird. Full yet strangely empty. “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing is wrong.” Iruka said as Kakashi moved his hand and licked over his thumb before rubbing it over the bite mark on his neck. In a small second it was healed and Neji stared at it. “See, all is…” Iruka started but stopped looking off before his eyes began to glow blue. “Kakashi! We have a problem!” Ino’s voice rang out from Iruka’s mouth.

Neji blinked. He was beginning to wonder if maybe he was doing some sort of impression but his eyes were different…

“Ino, what is it?” Kakashi asked.

“Sasuke heard from the front of the train that there is an unexpected check point coming up and the train will be stopping.”

Iruka’s eyes turned a dull black, almost grey color. “We have to stop the train.” He suddenly sounded like Roy and Neji blinked completely in wonder. “I’ll try to make this go as quickly as possible but in case something happens be on your toes.”

“Right.” Kakashi said.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Neji looked out the window to see that the train was slowing down. “Is something wrong?” He looked at Kakashi and Iruka. Iruka eyes were back to normal but he was holding his head.

Kakashi nodded. “Everything will be fine…Iruka I’m going to need you.”

Iruka looked at him and nodded. “Uh…sure whatever you need.” He stood up and Kakashi grabbed his waist. “Neji, stay here, everything will be fine.”

Neji stood up and nodded. “Okay…”

* * *

 

Roy pinched the bridge of his nose. He would never get used to someone else’s mind in his own body, or when he found himself in someone else’s body, let alone the body of a teenage vampire girl…. He always felt like she messed around in there as their minds connected. He tried to think of the thing he knew Ino had messed up for him…Yep, his image of Riza in their skirts was gone. Damn it, he worked hard on those images.

“Roy!”

He snapped out of it before looking at Riza Hawkeye looked at him. “They are waiting.”

Roy sighed. “Of course they are waiting, everyone is waiting.” He shook his head before he sighed.

“This check point wasn’t here before; does it have to do with the last four cars?” Riza asked, looking at Roy suspiciously.

“Last four cars? I’m not sure I understand.” Roy said as he stepped off the train and came face to face with a tall man with long silver hair tied by a black ribbon. His eyes were blue-grey under small, round, gray glasses. He was dressed in black priest robes with white gloves.

“Oh, hello, I’m sorry to stop you as you are speeding along to your destination but I am Father Abel Nightroad part of the Vatican ministry of foreign affairs, the AX division, and my partner and myself are here to check your train.”

“Check my train?!” Roy asked louder then he needed. “Is there something you are looking for?”

“Looking for anything, no, not at all, we are just worried of things coming into the country that don’t need to be here.” Abel said with a laugh.

“Things, like vampire?” Roy sighed as Ed barged into the conversation. He poked his head out of the door to look. “None of them are on this train; we are only carrying weapons to help you out. What are you really stopping us for?”

“Negative.” Roy blinked looking the man standing behind this Father Nightroad. “The reason for being here is classified.”

“I think I would have the right to know as I am the owner of the train.” Roy said crossing his arms.

“Negative, the reason for being here is classified.” The man said again. Roy blinked. “If you do not allow us to search your train you all will be arrested for crimes against humanity.”

“Crimes against humanity?” Ed asked stepping off the train. “We aren’t vampires here!”

Abel laughed. “Please excuse him, and lets all calm down, everything will be fine as long as we can look over your cargo.”

“Fine, but hurry, we have a deadline.”

“Of course, we’ll be quick.” Abel said with a smile before he and his partner walked off.

“Jeez, what a bother.” Ed said getting back on the train.

Riza looked at him and Roy cleared his throat. “This trip is becoming, more and more of a handful at a time.”

“Fine, don’t tell me.” Riza said. “I just hope you know what you are doing.” She walked back on the train and he watched her before looking at Abel and his partner look through the cargo. He relaxed his mind letting Ino in. _‘You guys might be in trouble.’_

_‘What is it?’_

_‘Priest working for the Vatican, working for what I’m sure is looking for vampires. Europe might be working together to eradicate vampires from the continent.’_

_‘A priest you say?’_ Ino asked before laughing, _‘I have the best idea.’_

Roy opened his eyes with a sigh. He hoped she knew what she was talking about.

* * *

 

“You want me to do what?” Neji asked looking as Naruto threw out the things in his suitcase before looking at him.

“Get in.” Naruto said.

“They are coming this way and we can hide better then you can.” Ino said.

“Can’t we just hide in the woods?” Neji asked.

“It’s safe to say I don’t trust you off the train.” Kakashi said.

Neji frowned before he looked at Hinata. Ino was stuffing the clothes in her dress making her look pregnant and he sighed, sitting down in the bag before lying on his side, getting into the fetal position. Sasuke chuckled. “You actually fit.”

Neji blushed as he ducked his head as Naruto zipped it up. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine. Just don’t breathe.”

“How do I do that?” Neji asked.

“Embrace your vampire side.” Kakashi said. “We don’t really have to use our lungs so think vampire.”

It sounded easy but it also sounded unlikely to be possible but he decided to try anyway. He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breath and trying to ‘think’ vampire. Slowly, his breathing slowed, his heart rate following before he suddenly felt it stop. His heart and lungs felt tight, aching against instinct to do what they wanted. He wasn’t sure how long he could keep up with the strain. Naruto zipped up the rest of the suitcase before they were gone. He felt someone pat the side. “Okay, it’s just Hinata and I, the others are gone. Just relax.” Iruka said.

“Are you ready Hinata?”

“Y-yes.”

Neji opened his eyes as he heard the car door open. “Huh, oh my.”

The voice was light and didn’t sound hostile at all, it sounded friendly and cheerful.

“P-please, we mean no harm.” Iruka said. “I am only trying to get my wife to Paris so she can have her baby.”

Iruka had changed his voice, he wasn’t speaking Japanese but it sounded French, with the perfect accent along with it.

“Stowaway’s?” The cheerful voice asked. “I see…they don’t know, do they?”

Neji heard someone else was there walking around the baggage.

“No…please this is our only way into France.” Iruka said.

“Well…I see no harm in it if you are not stealing or doing anything bad. But is it okay for you to be traveling in your state.”

“She’s due soon, it was a bad time to take a trip in her state but she insisted.”

“Scanning location for any more stowaways.” Another voice said.

“There are no more.” Iruka spoke up.

“I don’t think that will be necessary Tres.”

“Negative, search will commence as ordered. Positive, unknown creature found.” Tres said.

Neji found himself gasping for air, his heart jumping in his chest before the train jerked forward and he fell; he didn’t seem to be the only one. “What? Why are they moving?”

“Target found.”

He heard Iruka gasped before there was a loud crash before a loud bang. The bag was unzipped and Neji pushed it open looking at Hinata who pulled him away. Neji looked to see two men dressed as priest. Hinata pulled him to the door heading towards the front of the train with Iruka following. Neji looked back to see Naruto had one with red hair arm in his hand pulling at it roughly till it tore and Neji gasped looking at wires.

“A…robot?” Neji asked as he continued to let Hinata pull him.

“Yes, Sasuke realized he could not get into his mind. They are after you Neji.” Iruka said.

“W-who are they? Are they with Orochimaru?”

Before Iruka could answer the window broke open and the three of them stopped as a man with long blond hair tied back stood in front of them. He had icy blue eyes and was wielding a blade-staff pointing it right at Neji. He was dressed like them but slightly different. Neji stared at him before Hinata stood in front of him.

“Hinata…”

“I’ll protect you, Neji.”

“Move out of my way.” The man said.

She didn’t move and the man jumped ready to attack. “Wait, don’t!” Neji snapped but Hinata rushed forward as well, dodging the swing of his blade and pushing him roughly. Neji was sure it was enough until the man went flying hitting the door hard enough to dent it. “H-Hinata?!”

“I’ll protect you Neji.” Hinata said.

It was Iruka’s turn to grab his hand. “You aren’t the only half-blood here Neji.”

“What do you mean?”

Iruka pulled him to the window that the man broke through and he pushed Neji towards it. “Your uncle is a werewolf and your aunt is human, that makes Hinata a half werewolf…but more on that later. We have to climb out the window.”

Neji looked at him before he nodded letting Iruka help him climb out and up to the roof. It was easier then he thought and once he was on top he helped Iruka up when he heard a gun click.

“Stop this right now.” Neji looked at the man with long silver hair in a ponytail. He was pointing a gun at Neji. “In the name of the father, son, and the holy spirit, for crimes against humanity, I am arresting you under Vatican law.”

“Vatican law?” Kakashi stepped from behind Neji. “Is that what Italy relies on now that all has gone to hell. A baby face pope that doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

“This isn’t about the pope.” He said as he was joined by the blond guy and the red hair. Neji felt worried about Hinata right away. “This is about that boy. He is not safe; I must take him with us.”

Shikamaru and Sasuke joined Kakashi. “I would like to see you try.” Sasuke growled.

Sasuke jumped and the blond attacked him. Iruka stepped back dragging Neji with him. “Shit…we need to get to the engine.”

Neji frowned noticing they were coming to a bridge but the others didn’t seem to notice. He gasped as it got closer and he said the first thing that came to mind. “Coborî!” He called out without thinking. He didn’t mean to say that, he wasn’t even sure what he said but it seemed like Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Sasuke understood.

They ducked down onto the train along with man with silver hair, although his friends did not. Neji and Iruka dived down as well as they entered the tunnel. Once they were out Neji looked up to see that it was only the silver haired one left.

They all stood again and he laughed. “It would seem we have a bigger problem than we thought.” He said as he closed his eyes. And when they opened again, he looked more serious. “And I didn’t think I had to use this.” He took off his glasses. “Nanomachine Crusnik 0.2…”

Kakashi gasped. “You’re a…”

“Power output 40-” Before he could finish Neji opened his mouth to warn him but it was too late. He was hit in the back of the head by one of the rail road signs sending him flying off the train and into the grassy fields they were passing.

They all stood there for a second before Neji let himself fall back to sit down on the moving train. The way it had ended was just…so simple he couldn’t help but laugh.

* * *

 

“Who were they?”

“Father Abel Nightroad and his partners Father Tres Iqus and Father Hugue Watteau.” Roy said as watched over the conductor of the train. “It seems Rome has come up with a solution to handle vampires all by themselves.”

“Should we still be riding the train?”  Iruka asked.

“Kakashi and I have already got it covered.” Roy said. “With a little convincing, my best Alchemist is making a new rail road track for us, with the help of Naruto and Hiashi.”

“They can do it that fast?” Neji asked looking out the window at how fast they were going.

“Yes, they can do it. Your uncle is a very fast werewolf for his age and Ed can do this with no problem, although he won’t remember doing it.” Roy sighed before looking at his other members of his crew. They were all ignoring them as if they weren’t there. “I had hoped you wouldn’t have to do that to them.”

“I wasn’t expecting to run into problems.” Kakashi said.

Ino opened the door with a smile. “Hey, Hinata is fine. Just beat up a little. She a strong puppy for a half-blood, no offence to you Neji.”

Neji let out a breath. “I’m…glad.” He wasn’t sure he could handle losing the only family he had left.

“I’ve also told the others of the sudden change and that we will not be able to pick them up.” Ino said. “Mina was none too happy about that.”

“She’ll survive.” Kakashi said not sounding at all upset. Iruka shook his head. 

“You know how she gets when she’s angry.”

Kakashi shrugged. “If it doesn’t involve her true form I really don’t care.”

Roy smirked. “Oh yeah…that form.” He started to chuckle and Kakashi joined in as well. By the sound of it, they were thinking of something perverted and Iruka hit the both of them.

“That’s enough.”

Ino crossed her arms pouting and Neji blinked. “Vampires have a true form?”

Kakashi looked at him. “It is the form that their soul really looks like. Depending on how they are it can be a horrible monster to a…beautiful succubus.”

Iruka hit him again. “You keep digging yourself further and further in a hole.”

“Do I have one?”

They all looked at him. “It’s not unlikely. You might just have to embrace your vampire side fully and it will show.”

“Embrace my…vampire’s side. Like not breathing.”

Kakashi nodded. “Yes, but you might have to wait for the Bloody Moon for that. Your powers haven’t even bloomed yet.”

“You make him sound like a flower.” Roy said.

“Because he is a flower.” Kakashi said as he lifted Neji’s chin. “Just waiting to be bloomed, that’s how your mother described you.”

Neji smiled a little, happy to hear about his mother but noticing a sad look cross Kakashi’s eyes. “It’s done.”

He looked at Naruto who was back but still in his werewolf form. He was with a short boy with blond hair and wearing a red coat. “This is Ed.” Roy said. “But maybe when he’s not a mindless zombie you can meet him.”

Neji looked from Roy to Ed to see that his eyes were glowing red slightly as were everyone who was here with Roy. The more he saw it at work the more he was amazed at the power Kakashi held.  He could make anyone do anything; and not just his power, Sasuke’s power to read minds, Shikamaru’s power to control shadows and connect his body with others, and Ino with her power to transfer souls. It was all amazing and he couldn’t help but wonder. _‘What is my power?’_

* * *

 

Neji watched as Naruto was eating a large meal. The table was full and while Neji had his own plate Naruto was eating most of the food given to them. Although Hinata’s third plate wasn’t close to being full either. “It’s a werewolf thing.” Naruto said. “When you go all wild and come back down you need energy, food is energy like blood is energy for vampires.”

“Are you and Hiashi the only werewolves?”

“Oh no.” Naruto said picking up a chicken leg. “Though vampires do hold the majority of our group the minority is human and the rest our werewolves. There’s Kiba, Arthur, your uncle, Chouji, and Akira. Not to mention Mina’s knights who are all werewolves. Now that I think of it, we are the majority.” Naruto slammed his hand on the table making Hinata and Neji jump.

“Right.” Neji said with a nod. “There are something’s I still don’t understand, but things are becoming clear.”

“We’ll be in France in no time, and then you will get the whole story: past and future.” Naruto said with a bright smile. Neji blushed looking away. That smile made his heart beat hard against his chest, something he’s never felt before. Naruto excited him and it was odd to even think that a boy could excite him at all.

He frowned, thinking about Tenten. How could it be that he forgot about her so easily when it came to Naruto?

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Naruto asked.

“Nothing.” Neji said shaking his head. “It’s nothing I guess.”

He looked out the window watching the world pass him by. “Once we get to the Zoo you can meet Arthur. He can help you learn how to embrace your werewolf side.”

“Arthur?”

“Arthur Hellsing, he used to hunt vampires back when things were old like in the 1700s when Dracula was around, anyway he got bit by a werewolf and became one.”

“Bit…” He looked at Hinata and Naruto sighed.

“Yeah, sometimes, like vampires, they can get bit by a werewolf and turned to one but in my case you can be born one. To be born a full one you either need to mate with a female werewolf or mate with a female human while in your werewolf form…the last one…the mom doesn’t survive the birth.” He frowned. “But Hiashi mated with Hinata’s mom when he was in his human form so Hinata isn’t a full werewolf. She has the strength but I doubt she can actually turn into one.”

“I don’t think I would want to turn into one.” She said with a giggle before Naruto stood up.

“Hey, being a werewolf is cool! Beats being a vampire.”

“This again?”

Neji looked up to see Shikamaru, Ino, and Sasuke entering the dining car where they sat. “This is all you ever talk about.”

“Well I have pride for what I am.” Naruto snapped.

“Well whatever,” Ino said.  Neji smiled at them looking at them. They seemed to very closer even though this was supposed to be the start of a war. He sighed, looking down. Was he ready?

“What languages do you know Neji?”

Neji looked up at Shikamaru. “What?”

“On the roof, you yelled ‘Duck’ in Romanian, while all vampires know that language I didn’t think you would know it yet.”

“I…don’t” Neji said. “I didn’t mean to say it in Romanian.”

“You must have embraced your past.” Sasuke said.

“Embraced…my past?” Neji asked looking at him.

Naruto dropped his head on the table groaning. “This past stuff is so confusing.”

“It’s not.” Ino said. “You just don’t understand. At one point a werewolf and a vampire mated creating the first ever half-blood to ever be born, though shortly after it took its first breath of air they killed it, in fear of what it could do.”

“They had good reason to.” Shikamaru said. “You are supposed to be the most powerful thing on the planet; after the Bloody Moon reveals your power anyway.”

“There are a long line of half-bloods being born and being killed, the oldest one before you lived to be twelve years old, he lived in Romania. While embracing your vampire side you probably went deeper, going far back to embrace one of your past lives. It isn’t the first time this could have happened.”

“The more Half-Blood’s there had been, the longer the line of past lives there are.” Shikamaru said. “So there are lives with different abilities and powers that were never tapped into.  Meaning you can let your subconscious go back to that life and learn something like a different language. Hell, you could probably learn ever language around; The Half-Blood Prince has been sighted in almost every country.”

“But Japan will be the last.” Ino said. “You only have three more months to go!”

“How come you guys were able to keep me unharmed for this long?” Neji asked.

“It was easy when you plan ahead.” Ino said crossing her legs. “Your mom and dad were so in love, even if werewolves and vampires are supposed to never mate with each other, just like humans and werewolves and vampires and humans. Half-Bloods in general are different and sometimes can come out too powerful. Usually when a werewolf and vampire mate it comes out one or the other so they really weren’t sure if you would come out The Half-Blood Prince, but every time one of the last Half-bloods dies, another one is born right afterwards. So when word went out that the one before you died, your mom went in labor and it became clear that you were it.”

“Roy, Kakashi, you parents and uncle, Iruka, Sasuke’s dad and my dad were best friends and all agreed that this cycle had to end.” Naruto said. “That the anger between all three of our races just had to stop, so they decide to make sure you never got hurt.”

Shikamaru lit a cigarette. “It’s your blood. That’s how everyone knows about you. The moment you first get hurt or start to bleed the smell of your blood triggers everyone around you, and they know that you are The Half-Blood Prince.”

“I always thought Iruka was just overprotective because it was just the way he was…knowing that there is a reason behind it…makes it interesting I guess. By the way, what does my blood smell like?”

“It smells amazing.” Ino said. “Like a meadow full of flower.”

“For me it smells like a nice steak cooking on the grill.” Naruto said drooling some.

“As you can see it’s different for everyone. But it attracts attention.” Sasuke said. “It also taste different, your blood is known to give vampire unbelievable power at the slight taste of it. It can do anything, heal not just silver bullet wounds but cure a stab to the heart if you get it there on time.”

“Sounds amazing.”

“But it can also drive people crazy if too much is digested.” Shikamaru said. “And since it supposedly tastes incredible, we generally don’t want just a small taste.”

Neji nodded. “I understand.”

“It’s a long night, you must be tired.” Sasuke said. “There are beds waiting.”

Naruto jumped up and stretched. “I’m tried. This meal was delicious.”

“Do vampires have to sleep?” Neji asked as they all stood and left the car.

“Vampires who are born vampires sleep but vampires who are made don’t.” Shikamaru said. “Our bodies continue requiring things like sleep; also there isn’t anything else to do.”

Ino sighed. “You’re so lazy!”

“Besides it’s going to get really noises as soon as Haji catches up.”

Neji blinked. “Haji? Catch up? I thought they weren’t joining us?”

“Again, Mina is a spoiled little girl and won’t take going to France on foot as an answer. She ordered the others to come meet us, no matter what it takes.” Shikamaru said.

“Haji is closest. He’ll be here by midnight.” Sasuke said.

“He’s faster than that; he must have her with him.” Naruto said as he opened the door to his room. “One of the Queens.”

Neji looked at them all before he opened his door and went into his room.

* * *

 

_Tenten and Lee were staring right at him. The bars keeping him away from them as he tried to hold onto their ropes, but it was slipping fast, burning his hand before they finally slipped and their screams for help filled the air._

“No!” Neji sat up quickly panting. He put a hand over his head before he looked at the time. It was two in the morning. Only an hour after he actually managed to close his eyes and get some sleep. Any other time he would see Lee and Tenten.

He sat there feeling sick when he heard what sounded like the cello. Opening his eyes, he slipped out of the small cot and opened his door, looking down the hall towards the sound.

“Troublesome.”

He looked at Shikamaru who was at his door with his shirt off and his hair down. “Two in the fucking morning.”

“Who is that?” Neji asked stepping out into the hall.

“Saya’s chevaliers.”

“Chevalier?”

“It’s what we make when we turn a human. More like a slave if you ask me.” Shikamaru said crossing his arms. “You can go back there and see for yourself, although you won’t get much out of him.”

Neji watched as Shikamaru went back into his room and closed the door locking it before Neji closed his door. He headed towards the music to the next car towards the sitting room. Sitting in one of the elegant designed arm chairs to his back to him was a man with long black hair in a ponytail dressed in all back. He was playing the cello while a girl was lying on the couch. She looked to be sleeping with hair that came to her shoulder.

Neji closed the door and went up to the girl: she looked so beautiful. He reached down towards her not registering that the music had stopped till his wrist was grabbed. He flinched and looked up at the man who stared at him.

“I-I’m sorry.”

The man let his hand go and Neji took a step back. “I just can’t…”

“Sleep.” He finished.

Neji nodded. “Yes…I’m sorry. She just…looked familiar. I’m sorry…I’ll leave you alone.”

Neji turned to leave when his hand was grabbed. He looked at the man who was holding his hand in his own hand that was bandaged up and looked larger than the other. Neji looked down at it before at him. “You can stay, Neji.”

Neji blinked. “You know my name?” He gasped. “Are you…Haji?”

He nodded before taking a seat and beginning to play the cello again. Neji took a seat on the other couch and sat in silence as Haji playing the cello. It was beautiful and he sat back to listen before felt his eyes getting heavy and he dozed off.

* * *

 

“How dare you not stop your train for me!? Who do you think you are?”

“I already told you why we couldn’t stop the train Mina, so stop yelling; Akira brought you here didn’t he.”

Neji opened his eyes, looking up to see Kakashi talking to a little girl with long blond hair in pigtails. She was wearing a black dress and standing by a boy who was shaking his head.

“This isn’t about you Mina.” Kakashi said. “I’m glad you enjoyed your time as Queen of all the vampires but it’s not about that anymore.”

“I know that! But I’m still a Queen!”

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry.” Kakashi shook his head. “Are you happy now?”

“No.” She crossed her arms before turning to look at Neji. “And you. Who do _you_ think you are?”

Neji blinked. “Me?”

“Mina, that’s enough.” The boy behind her said. “Aren’t you the one that said he outranked us?”

“No.” She pouted. “I said he outranked _you_.”

He sighed. “Well of course.”

“Neji, this Queen Mina and her personal knight Akira.”

“Nice to meet you.” Neji said standing up. She looked so young but Kakashi informed him Queens were not created they were born. “Your Highness.”

She seemed to stop all her pouting and smiled. “The pleasure is all mine Your Majesty.”

Neji smiled a little. He always felt weird when someone used that title for him. “You can call me Neji.”

“Right, as you can call me Mina.”

He nodded and she turned to Kakashi. “I won’t forgive you for this Kakashi. I expect you to make it up to me somehow.”

“Right.” He sighed before looking at Neji. “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t sleep, and I heard Haji playing the cello.”

“Yeah, he loves that cello.” Kakashi chuckled. “He plays it for Saya…you’ll get uses to hearing it.”

“Speaking of Saya, where is she?” Mina said.

“She’s eating.” Kakashi said. “She’ll be back I’m sure.”

Just as those words left his mouth the door opened and a girl came with Haji behind her. It was the same girl he saw sleeping but now he could see her red eyes and why she looked so familiar. “You…look just like her…Diva.”

Mina was suddenly in front of him. “What did you say?”

He blinked. “I said…sorry. She’s a twin…so of course she would look just like Diva…”

“Neji has unfortunately run into Diva.” “Kakashi said.

“I heard she plans to marry you.” Mina said.

“Marry me?”

Roy laughed. “Marry you? I bet Naruto and Sasuke are going to be upset with that news.”

“Why would they care?” Neji asked.

“Because they love you.”

“Love me? They don’t even know me….” And he didn’t like boys. He thought about adding that…but it didn’t seem to be very important…

“They were…raised knowing who you were Neji.” Kakashi said. “And raised to be devoted to you…thought that isn’t hard to do when it comes to protectors…but maybe your relationship with them should be talked about with them. Saya, how are you?”

“I’m great.” Saya said with a smile. “Happy to see you guys again.”

“It’s good to see you again sister.” Mina said with a smile. “I was afraid you would have fallen asleep by now.”

“Not yet.” Saya said with a small smile. “Soon…I think.”

“Anyway come over here and meet our maker.” She turned to the side to let Neji come into view. “This is our Prince! Which I have to say doesn’t make since, how can a prince be better than a queen!?”

Akira sighed. “Why are you fussing so much?”

Saya stared at him before smiling. “It’s nice to meet you.”

He smiled. “Yes, nice to meet you as well.”

She smiled brightly before her stomach growled and put a hand to her stomach. Mina turned to her. “You’re still hungry?’

She frowned holding her stomach. “The food wasn’t ready yet.”

Kakashi laughed. “It should be by now. You two must be hungry.”

“Yes, let’s go. The others will be up soon as well.”

“What about my brothers and Red Shield?”

“We will be meeting up with them at The Zoo; we couldn’t stop to pick them up. We ran in to trouble.”

“Huh…The Zoo?” Saya asked turning to look at Kakashi.

“I hope you don’t mind Saya.” Kakashi said. “It will be our safe heaven where we will stay till we make our next move.”

“What is our next move?” Neji asked looking at Kakashi.

“We’ll talk about it once we get to France.” Kakashi gave him a smile before Iruka grabbed Neji’s shoulder and they headed out.

* * *

 

“This train is so long.” Ino said with a sigh. “I’m hungry!”

Neji looked at her before looking at Saya. “Saya is a vampire too right…how come she eat real food…and you guy don’t.”

“It’s kind of a habit.” Ino said. “Vampires who are born vampires are sometimes taught to eat human food so they continue to do it out of habit. It’s an easier way to mix with humans…but other vampire just sticks to blood.”

“So vampires who eat human food never have to drink blood?” Neji asked.

“No, they still do.” Shikamaru said. “And vampires who are made can only drink blood.”

“But…I don’t want to drink human blood.” Saya said.

Neji couldn’t help but agree but another question came to mind. “What type of vampire am I?”

“Well since you can walk in the day light we can cut out Tibult but we’ve never met your mother so we can’t really be sure?” Ino said. “Ask Kakashi or the adults, they were around when she was.”

Neji bit into his apple before looking over at Naruto and Sasuke. They were in the middle of arm wrestling and it looked to be a real power struggle. “And…what about them?”

“Hmm? What about them?” Saya asked with her mouth full of food.

“Kakashi said…they…”He blushed at the thought finding he couldn’t understand why. “They love me?”

“Oh, you mean that?” Ino asked. She was pouting and Neji couldn’t understand why.

“Sasuke and Naruto are…have lived their whole life with you on their mind.” Shikamaru said.

Neji blinked. “So I’ve been told…They grew up knowing about me?”

He nodded. “Every Half-Blood have protectors but in order to keep you safe Sasuke and Naruto were raised with you in mind…different ways.”

“What do you mean?”

“Both of their parents are in our side, and both of their parents took precautions to make sure…they were completely in your side.”

“How?” Neji asked.

“Well, Sasuke got to grow up with you. Every school you went to he went too. And of course the bond between you two will just bring him to love you on his own."

“What about Naruto?” Neji asked, curious.

“Naruto's story...isn't as nice. As of recently, he hasn’t been outside of his own ‘tower’ so to speak.”

“His own tower?” Neji asked.

“Naruto has been locked in a basement for years.” Ino said hurriedly. “With only his father and mother visiting him.”

“W-why?” Neji asked feeling his heart breaking a little.

Ino and Shikamaru looked at each other before he cleared his throat. “At one point, they thought he was dangerous. While he was locked in the basement when his parents weren’t around his only thoughts were about you.”

“Me?”

“Naruto has never seen your face before until you guys first meet.” Ino said. “All Naruto knew was that there was someone he needed to protect.”

So even though he was a boy…Naruto still loved him?

For some reason the idea made his heart skip a beat and he felt his face flush a little.

The sound of a loud crash made them look at Naruto and Sasuke, the table broken and the both of them fallen in the rubble. There was the sound of hurried footsteps before the door slid open and Roy looked in. “What the hell are you doing to my train!?”

“Really, that’s what you yell when you hear a crash, not are you okay?” Ino snapped.

“I’m pretty sure if you were in trouble I would know.”  Roy walked in shaking his head as the destroyed table. “Jeez, what a mess?”

“You can just fix it! It’s not that big of deal!” Ino snapped.

Neji smiled before looking out the window. They all seemed happy together, friends. He frowned, thinking back of Lee and Tenten…his friends. Was it okay to replace them so eagerly…

“Neji.”

Neji opened his eyes to look at Saya. “Are you okay?”

“Yes…I’m fine.”

* * *

 

Ino was right, it was boring on the train but they had one more night and half a day before they made it to France. The adults were keeping to themselves leaving what Neji labeled as the children to themselves.

“You don’t know how to play chess do you?” Neji asked looking at Naruto watching him make an illegal move.

“This game is boring!” Naruto said. “Jeez isn’t there anything to do.”

“We can hunt.” Ino said with a smile.

Neji looked at her before Naruto who stood as well. “That sounds fun.”

“Hunt…for what? Not…” Neji trailed off looking at Naruto.

“Deer!” Naruto said. “Wanna come?”

Neji blinked. “Hunting for deer?”

“It’s really for them.” He pointed to Ino and Shikamaru. “They need blood and I like the chase.”

“Is…this a good idea?” Hinata asked.

“Yeah.” Naruto said. “You guys can ride with me while I chase the deer out in the open and let them have at it.”

“Deer?” Mina sighed. “I guess I can only take what I can get.”

They started to head to the back door but Neji stayed put. “Should we tell Kakashi that we are doing this?”

“He’ll say no.” Ino said.

“Sure it’s troublesome.” Shikamaru said. “But he seems to have forgotten us. He has Iruka and I doubt Roy would let us touch him or any of his staff. We need to eat before we get to Paris.”

“I think we should tell him anyway.” Akira said.

“No time.” Mina stood on the rail. “Come along Akira.” She jumped off.

Akira ran up to the rail. “Mina!” He sighed before he jumped off the rail as well changing into a werewolf and jumping into the forest.

“The games begin.” Sasuke said right by Neji before he jumped off along with Shikamaru and Ino.

“Naruto…”

Naruto grabbed his hand. “Everything will be okay.” He smiled. “Saya, Hinata are you coming.”

“Yes.” Hinata said.

“I’m…not sure.” Saya said.

“Saya.” Neji turned to see Haji standing in the door way.

Neji blinked looking at Saya. “It’ll be fun.” Naruto said standing on the rail. He held out his hand Neji stared at it before he took it. Naruto smiled lifting Neji up and tossing him in the air. He jumped off turning into a werewolf in mid-air before landing, catching Neji in his arms.

Hinata jumped off as well landing and rolling but in one piece and Haji grabbed Saya jumping off.

Naruto put Neji on his back and ran up to Hinata picking her up too. They ran into the forest, where they caught up with Akira. Haji placed Saya on Akira’s back.

“Haji join the others.” Saya said. “We’ll catch up.”

Haji nodded and jumped off.

“What now?” Neji asked grabbing some of Naruto’s fur.

“We hunt.” Naruto growled out before he rushed off.

* * *

 

Kakashi sighed, hanging up the phone. “Seems Gai won’t be joining us at The Zoo. Something came up.”

“Something like what?”  Roy asked.

“He didn’t say.” Kakashi said. “But its fine, he’ll be around soon.”

“The Knights are there as well.” Kakashi turned to look at Kaname who was looking out the window. It was cracking as he stared at it. “And Zero is escorting Yuki and Kaien to The Zoo as we speak.”

Roy laughed. “You left Zero with Yuki? That’s odd of you? I thought you hated him.”

The window shattered making him jump; gapping at more damage of his train. “She insisted on it.” Kaname said bringing his hand to his head.

“She knows you needed to be here.” Kakashi said picking up one of the broken glass. “She’s a smart Queen.”

“Speaking of Queen, where are Mina and Saya?” Wolfgang, Akira’s father, asked uncrossing his arms.

“They are in the back with Neji.”

Kaname and Wolfgang looked at him. “So, he’s here?” Wolfgang asked.

“My Prince.” Kaname closed his eyes and put a hand to his heart. “I wonder what form you have taken this time.”

They headed towards the back of the train. He shook his head before opening the door. “I’m sure whatever form he takes you will be as polite as always Kan-“

He trailed off to see the car empty. He growled. “Where the hell are they?”

* * *

 

It was amazing to feel the wind flowing through his hair as Naruto ran through the woods. The feel of nature around him made his heart beat hard. It was amazing to see everything coming at peace out here. He leaned forward and rested his head against Naruto’s soft fur.

When Naruto stopped he looked up to see a moose. It looked majestic as it ate some grass. “It’s…beautiful.” Neji said staring at it.

“It’s big enough for them.”  Akira said.

“Then, let’s get too it.” Hinata tighten her hold around his waist and he looked back at her.

Naruto nodded before he rushed forward Akira following. The moose looked up and before running off. Akira broke off and ran forward pushing the moose towards a clearing.

It went to attack him but Naruto jumped in growling at it, sending it off towards the clearing. They chased after it and Neji watched as they moved together, as if they had done this together millions of times.

When it tried to run a different way Naruto or Akira will scare it back into the right path before it ran into the clear meadow where Sasuke jumped out of a tree and tackled it, grabbing hold of its neck and twisted it until there was a loud pop and it stopped fighting.

Ino, Shikamaru, Mina, and Haji came out. “Great kill.” Mina said before she sunk her fangs into its neck. Shikamaru and Ino followed and Neji watched before looking at Haji.

“Do you not drink blood?” Neji asked

“No.” Haji said.

“This is different.” Saya said. “That time…they were humans but this is an animal, if you are thirst, you can drink.”

“I am fine.” Haji said shaking his head although he was watching them drink.

Neji got off of Naruto and helped Hinata down as well. “Saya, let’s go look around.” He smiled at her helping her down. He was sure Haji didn’t want to drink blood in front of her. “We’ve been on that train for so long, some fresh air is good.”

“Yeah.” Saya said getting off Akira.

“Don’t go too far.” Naruto said nuzzling against him.

Neji smiled. “I won’t.” He scratched Naruto’s ear before he walked off with Hinata and Saya. They didn’t go far before they found a small stream. While they walked Saya told them about Red Shield and what they stood for.

“Fighting Diva and Chiropterans.” Saya said.

“Chiropterans?” Neji asked looking at them.

“Chiropterans are monster that are made by Diva’s blood. They drink human blood and my blood is the only ones that can kill them.”

“They are like vampires?”  Hinata asked.

“Yes.” Saya said. “But worse.” She played with some of her hair. “I’m on a mission to destroy them and stop Diva from her mission…but I think she has a new goal. It might be harder to beat her…I’m not as strong as her. She drinks blood when I only get transfusions once a week.”

“I do too.” Neji said. “I did…”

“You don’t have too.” Saya said. “Drink blood I mean, you don’t have too…”

“I do.” Neji looked at the stream. “When I didn’t I grew weak and couldn’t protect the ones I loved.” Neji tighten his fist. “So…if I have to I will drink blood so no one I care about will die.”

The wind blew a little and at the sound of screaming made the three of them look up. Birds were flying off and Neji ran where the scream was coming from. “Who is that?” Neji asked as they ran.

“I think it’s Ino.” Hinata said as they ran.

They made it to the clearing where Ino was on the ground screaming holding her head. They ran up to her and the others.

“Ino…what’s wrong?”

“So…you think this is fun?” Neji looked up to see Kakashi. His black eye was glowing.

“I’m sorry!” Ino yelled. “I’m sorry!”

“What are you doing to her?” Neji asked.

“Ino is my creation.” Kakashi said. “I am the one that turned her into a vampire, as of such I can cause her great pain at my will.” She stopped screaming and frowned.

“Kakashi…I’m sorry.” Ino said going up and running up to him. She was crying.

“I am too.” He said rubbing her head. “I did not mean to cause you so much pain. Just to locate you, but you know how I am when things don’t go my way.” Kakashi said with a smile. “Now…tell me, why are you out here.”

“We wanted to go hunting.” Ino said without hesitation. “We were hungry and we all wanted to get out…”

“And you took Neji off the train…” Kakashi looked right at Neji.

“Yes I-“

“I wanted to get out.” Neji said stepping up. “I wanted to go with them. To get off the train and to look around. If you are going to be mad at anyone be mad at me.”

Kakashi stared at him. “It is not safe for you out here.”

“I’m sorry…I hope I didn’t worry you much.”

“You worried Iruka more. Come on, all of you.”

They followed him towards the tracks. “How mad do you think he is?” Neji asked as he walked between Naruto and Sasuke.

“His thoughts are all over the place.” Sasuke said. “He’s trying to make me see he’s not upset but he’s going crazy. He’s angry but can keep it under control now that he knows you are safe.”

“I’m sorry Ino, I-“

“She knew what she was getting into.” Shikamaru said behind him. “But no matter what Kakashi may do to her she will always be impulsive.”

“Hey, I’m right here.”

Neji looked at her. She looked just as cheerful as ever. “What is it like…for Kakashi to…?”

“Be my maker?” Ino asked. “He can feel when I’m sad or in pain or even if I’ve died. He can call for me whenever he wants and if he feels the need he can command me to do whatever he wants with just a few simple words and we’re always connected. But what you saw isn’t an everyday thing. I am well behaved.”

“She just doesn’t like to sit around.” Shikamaru finished.

“I’m glad I’m not with a maker. Life as a pureblood.” Mina said with a content sigh before Akira grabbed her and they jumped going to the train. The others followed but Kakashi stayed behind before Sasuke began to pick up Neji.

“Go Sasuke.”

Sasuke looked at Neji before he left as well. Neji frowned looking at Kakashi’s back. “I’m…really sorry…I should have told you.”

“Yes, you should have, but I really can’t be mad at you, they should know better.” He sighed. “But they are young.” He turned to Neji, his eyes the same as before. “I just made a promise to your father that I would watch over you with my life.”

Neji blinked. “You’re…life.”

“Yes. We are here to serve and protect you. So please…don’t do anything dangerous anymore.”

Neji smiled. “I understand.”

Kakashi smiled as well before he lifted Neji up and jumped to the train.

* * *

 

He didn’t get any sleep, spending most of the time listening to Haji playing the cello and being haunted by the thought of Lee and Tenten. He rubbed his eyes as he sat at one of the tables in the dining car.

“Are you okay?”

He looked up, watching as Naruto sat across from him while Sasuke sat next to him. He blushed, suddenly feel a little weird to be around the two…especially knowing what they had gone through as children. “I’m…sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Naruto asked eating the rice ball he had with him.

“Shikamaru told me about…your childhoods.” He didn’t even want to look up at them.

“There isn’t anything to be sorry for.” Naruto said.

“But you-“

Naruto smiled brightly. “Because of you I’m alive! And look. I’m even outside now because of you! I couldn’t be happier Neji.”

Neji blinked before looking at Sasuke. He had his eyes closed, resting back against the seat before he sighed. “Dealing with my parents and brother has made me stronger and I know you weren’t there to really see it, but it only makes me stronger knowing that I have to prove it too you that I’m strong. What kind of protector would I be if I couldn’t do that?”

Neji swallowed. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank us, just sit back and enjoy the ride.” Naruto said with a smile.

Neji smiled as while Sasuke rolled his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated yay! Thanks for the kudos and those who are actually reading it. I know it has been a while but if you're still reading this thank you, I'll start updating more often from now on.

“Welcome to The Zoo.”

Neji stepped up towards the gates and Saya gasped. “Everything… is like before.”

She walked to the metal gate running her hand over it. “It’s been renovated,” Kakashi said. “As our HQ.”

“Saya,” Haji joined her side. “Welcome home.”

She smiled grabbing his hand as they walked through the gates. The others followed and Neji walked behind them. It was a long walk before they made it to the estate where Saya walked up to the fountain and dipped her hand in it. “How did you do all this?”

“With Mina’s money of course,” Neji looked as a young man came walking down the stairs that lead to the estate mansion. “And a little bit of mine,” He had dark brown hair and blue eyes and as he walked down the stairs he opened up a pocket watch before closing it with a smile. “I hope you aren’t mad, things have taken such a different turn than what we had expected them to take. Our mission has changed and The Zoo serves as the perfect location for us to stay and work.”

“No, not at all,” Saya said. “It looks wonderful.”

She walked in with Haji and the others followed. Kakashi put a hand on Neji’s shoulder. “Neji, this is Joel Goldschmidt the sixth, the current head of the Red Shield and a descendent of the original Joel who found Saya and Diva.”

“Found…?”

“A story for another time,” Joel said laughing. “That is the least of our problems now. Come inside, I have something to give you.”

Neji nodded following in. Joel led them in through the foyer into the living room where there was a larger group of people waiting. “Welcome to Red Shield. Our mission has been tweaked, but as long as Diva is still against humanity and we are more than willing to help any way we can,” Joel said with a smile.

Neji looked around surprised by how busy it all seemed to be before he spotted Kakashi coming towards him with some.

“Neji, I would like to introduce you to Arthur Van Helsing,” Kakashi said with a smile as he stopped in front of Neji.

“Neji…am I pronouncing that correctly?” Arthur asked his voice heavy with a British accent.

“Yes,” Neji smiled before he took Arthur’s awaiting hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, chum,” Arthur said with a wide smile. “I must tell you I’ve been waiting a very long time for this day.”

“Right…” Neji gave a small smile before cocking his head to the side. “Kakashi said…you faced Dracula before. Right?”

A look crossed over Arthur before he hummed to himself before sighing. “We have been faced with each other before…which worries me about meeting him again. He was a very capable opponent. And crafty.”

“Did you face against him often?” Neji asked curiously. Arthur seemed to be reminiscing about the past. “How did you beat him?”

Arthur looked at him, looking a little uneasy before giving him a lopsided smile. “Well…I didn’t really get the chance to beat him. The first time I meet him was back in 1666,” Arthur said rubbing his chin. “I think…it was summer.”

Neji was trying to wrap his mind around that. 1666? Arthur looked to be in his thirties and Neji found himself looking over at Naruto who was talking to Shikamaru. “Do…werewolves usually live a long time? Are they immortal like vampires?”

“Not immortal,” Kakashi said. “Just imagine it going by dog years.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t call it that. The longest werewolf lived to be 806…though he continued to look relatively young for his age.”

“How old are you?” Neji asked before blushing a little. “If…it’s not too rude to ask.”

“No, it’s fine,” Arthur laughed, waving off Neji’s discouraged look. “I was changed into a werewolf when I was thirty-five years old,” He rubbed his chin in thought. “Which was around…1678 I think…” He looked down at his hands. “So…that makes me 374. Still kicking,” He winked at Neji before patting him hard on the back, sending him forward a little.

“Wow…” Neji said before he looked at Kakashi. Kakashi gave him a smile.

“Are you wondering about me?” He chuckled softly before shrugging. “Will you allow me to have this se-“

“299.” Arthur quickly said.

Neji laughed, half in amazement and at Kakashi’s expression as he turned his eye to look at Arthur who only laughed it off. Neji did the math in his head. “You were born in 1718.”

“September 15, 1718,” Kakashi confessed.

“When did you join Red Shield?” Neji asked curious about Kakashi.

“In 1890,” Kakashi said. “I joined alongside your mother Ryoka.”

At the mention of his mother, Neji opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as his stomach growled.

“You’re hungry?” Arthur asked with a smile. “I’m sure Lewis has something cooking for us. Let’s go see,” He put his arm around Neji and steered him towards the dining room where Saya was talking to a younger boy and to trends.

The kid spotted Neji and smiled brightly going over. “Are you the half-blood?”

“Riku, don’t be rude,” Saya spoke softly, coming over before giving Neji a sheepish smile. “Neji, this is my little brother Riku and over there is Kai.

“That’s supposed to be the half-blood?” Kai asked before crossing his arms. “Seems pretty puny to me?”

Neji frowned looking down; the girl beside him stomped on his foot. “Kai, you don’t have to be an ass.”

“Ow, what?”

She shook her head before looking at him. “Hi, my name is Mao Jahana, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

“Why are you even still here?” Kai asked. “This is just going to get more dangerous.”

“She can handle herself,” Neji turned to look at a man who smiled at him. “Akihiro Okamura, I’m a reporter and I would love ask you some questions.”

Mao hit him as well. “I swear; I’m surrounded by guys who have no manners at all!”

A woman laughed and he looked at a blond woman smiling at him. “Mao is full of energy as always. My name is Julia Silverstein and that man over there is David.”

“It’s nice to meet you all.”

“While there does seem to be a lot of people around, our team is much smaller than it may seem,” Arthur said with a smile. “Everyone here has been handpicked by me. But enough about that for now, let’s have dinner.”

“Afterwards I’ll show you to your room,” Riku said grabbing Neji’s hand. “It’s really big, and Julia let me make sit ready for you.

“Thank you.” Neji smiled, sitting down between Sasuke and Naruto before dinner was served, a dish he had never had before. It was an American dish and tasted as delicious as it smelt. He hadn’t been aware how hungry he was until he was finishing his second bowl of ‘gumbo’ but still found that he still felt…hungry. Hungry for something else.

He pushed that hunger aside.

* * *

 

The room was too amazing for him. It looked like it was fit for a king. He chuckled to himself, sitting on the bed. He was a Prince, after all, maybe he should get used to this.

He wasn’t really sure what to do at the moment and continue to sit on the bed before lying down. The bed was soft, and it felt like a cloud. His eyes were already getting heavy and he struggled to keep them up. After the heavy meal, he felt tired and his eyes began to droop as he let himself settle into the softness of the bed.

He began to close his eyes-

_“Neji!”_

He jumped up at the sound of Tenten yelling his name. The room was completely dark and he was sweating and his heart was beating painfully in his chest. He put his hand on his forehead trying to calm himself down.

“Are you okay?”

He jumped, looking next to him as his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and he spotted Sasuke looking at him. He blushed. “W-what are you doing in my bed?”

“You were having a nightmare,” Sasuke said nonchalantly.

“Well, you can’t just come into my bed!”

Sasuke smirked sitting up. “What makes you say that? You do belong to me.”

“Belong to…w-what are you talking about!?” Neji snapped.

Sasuke eyes seemed to be glowing in the dark and Neji frowned, looking into them. They were dark but also bright…reminding Neji of the night sky. He found himself staring into Sasuke’s eyes for such a long time that he hadn’t even noticed the male was getting closer till his lips barely touched his. He wanted to pull away but something was keeping him from doing it.

_“Neji…”_

Tenten.

Neji pulled away. “Sasuke…do you think they died quickly.”

He wasn’t sure why that was something he wanted to ask but he knew he didn’t want to kiss Sasuke. Especially when Tenten had only just died…and Naruto had stolen a kiss from him already…do normal people move on this quickly after their loved ones died…was having kisses stolen from him considered ‘moving on’? Was he really thinking about this at the moment?

“Yes,” Sasuke said.

Neji frowned. It didn’t make him feel any better. “If I couldn’t save the two of them…how am I supposed to be expected to save anyone…” Let alone millions and millions of people.

“Will you let their deaths dictate the way you live the rest of your life?” Sasuke asked.

Neji looked at him before frowning. “I…don’t want it too.”

“Then don’t.”

“You make it sound easy…”

Sasuke closed his eyes before he spoke again. “It has to be. A lot of people have already died because of you, and it’s only the beginning. If you let the death of pointless humans bother you then there is no way you can win this.”

He couldn’t believe Sasuke had really just said that. “They weren’t _pointless_ humans, they were my friends, something I would never call you,” He stood up. “I want you to leave.”

“And if I don’t?”

The nerve of this guy. “Fine.” He stormed out of his own room, slamming the door shut behind him. Some protector Sasuke was supposed to be, so far, he had only succeeded in pissing him off. He even made him leave his OWN room, how crazy was that. He opened the door, ready to yell at Sasuke but the young vampire was nowhere to be seen.

He sighed, there was no way he could go back to sleep. Dealing with Sasuke had awakened him fully and he really wasn’t sure if he actually wanted to go back to sleep. His dreams had been plagued with Tenten and Lee every time he fell asleep.

He leaned against the door frame, wondering what to do when he heard talking down the hall. There was a light on, peeking through a cracked door and the voice sounded like Iruka. He wouldn’t mind spending time with his adopted father and decided to ignore the growling stomach, which seems to have other plans with what it wanted from the male.

As he headed towards Iruka’s voice, he wondered if it was actually the males bedroom…and if he was talking, clearly someone was there. He wouldn’t want to interrupt them talking about something important…or them in the middle of doing something. He shook his head at the idea. As he began to worry about that he could hear a voice that didn’t belong to Kakashi.

“You’re all too pessimistic, I say it’s only high flying from here on,” Arthur said sounding as cheerful as ever.

“We’re just being realistic,” Roy voice rang familiar in Neij’s ears. “In times of war you never truly know the outcome.”

“I know all about war my friend.”

“What Arthur is trying to say is…we should all take a deep breath and relax a little. Neji’s safe with us for the time being, and we should take this small victory to heart,” Iruka cut in, always the mediator.

“Why don’t you come in Neji?” Kakashi asked making Neji freeze for a moment. He supposed it was foolish of him to believe he could go unseen with so many supernatural creatures in a room so he straightened up and headed inside, looking at those who were there. Several that he knew and those that he didn’t.

Iruka pulled the door open for him with a smile. “What are you doing up at this hour?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Neji said honestly as he looked at the time. It was almost one in the morning and he looked back at Iruka. “What about you?”

Iruka chuckled, blushing a little. “We had to wait up for everyone to arrive.”

Roy chuckled along with two other men. “If this what you want to call it.”

Neji blinked, getting a good idea by the way Iruka was blushing and Kakashi was looking off as if he wasn’t involved at all. The thought of the two of them doing something…intimate was not something he wanted to think about at the moment.

“But now that you are awake,” Neji looked at Arthur who was smiling at Neji, ushering him into the room. “Kakashi was just telling me that you ran into Mina and Saya, but the third queen is here with her two lovers-“

The youngest girl here blushed, waving her hands around. “W-we aren’t l-lovers!”

One of the males standing behind her just rolled his eyes, a faint blush on his face. The other just smiled before stepping towards Neji. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I was on the train with you…but after you got in trouble.”

Neji blushed. “R-right…”

“My name is Kaname. This is my queen Yuki and her friend Zero.”

Zero rolled his eyes, glaring at Kaname who ignored him. The rivalry was clear between them and it reminded Neji of Sasuke and Naruto.

“I want to know one thing,” Zero crossed his arms, seeming to get back to a previous topic. “Why is there a vampire hunter in our ranks…doesn’t that only hurt our progress.”

“That was before he knew there was a more important conflict happening,” Kakashi said. “But that’s all in the past,” He went over to Neji before putting his hand on his shoulder. “It’s all about the future now.”

Neji rubbed his arm, looking down feeling a little embarrassed. “No pressure right,” He said trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Kakashi removed his hand with a frown. “I know it’s a lot…but we’ve come this far.”

“ _You’ve_ gone this far…All I’ve done is hide and pretend to be human.”

“You are human,” Iruka said coming to his side. He grabbed Neji’s shoulders softly till the half-blood looked at his adopted father. “Neji. Do you have to actually come from human parents to actually be human?”

Neji honestly didn’t know. “What makes someone human?”

“Knowing right from wrong I believe,” Iruka lead Neji over to a love seat and they sat together. “Knowing that there is someone wanting to take over the world when we could all live in harmony. Fighting for the weak with a brave heart, that is what makes you human.”

Neji continued to look at Iruka before he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around his adopted father, hiding his face in his chest. “I’m scared…”

Iruka chuckled softly over him, kissing him softly on the head. “I think that also makes you human Neji.”

“We’re all scared.”

Neji removed his face from Iruka’s chest to look at Kakashi who had a calm and carefree face. “But we aren’t defeated.”

“Let’s put you back to bed,” Iruka stood, taking Neji’s hand to help him stand before putting his arm around him. “I would like to tell you that you can take it easy, but…”

“It's time to get serious,” Roy said.

Neji looked at him, the male standing beside Kakashi and Arthur looking strong and powerful. “Tomorrow, you start training.”

Training…Neji nodded his head before leaving with Iruka. “This is really happening, huh?”

Instead of saying anything, Iruka just held Neji closer.

* * *

 

He had always been a morning person, but even he wanted to just stay in bed. It took him a long time to finally push Tenten and Lee out of his mind and even now, he only got a solid three hours of sleep before Naruto excitedly came to wake him up.

“Come on!” Naruto jumped on his bed. “The sun’s bright and breakfast is ready! Today we’re going to start training!”

Neji ignored Naruto as best as he could before Naruto landed on his knees, straddling Neji’s legs. The heat of Neji on top of him got his full attention and he turned around to look at Naruto.

“You look tired,” Naruto said.

Neji looked at Naruto while he sat up, wanting to say something but could only look at Naruto’s lips. He was brought back to Orochimaru’s penthouse and feeling Naruto’s warm lips on his own. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of Naruto’s lips and when the werewolf’s tongue slowly ran across them, a blush raised up to Neji’s cheek and he turned away.

“I’m awake. I-I’ll meet you downstairs.”

“Uh…y-yeah,” Naruto stuttered standing up on his bed again before stepping off and leaving.  He looked back at Neji for a moment before closing the door behind him.

With a sigh, Neji allowed himself to fall back onto his bed, his head falling softly onto the pillow. His girlfriend had just died…and not only was he now fawning over how Naruto’s lips felt on his, the image of those lips once again filled his brain, drowning out the sound of Tenten screaming his name and filling him with a heat as he remembered the gentle touch.

As much as he would like to sleep in peace, he didn’t want to forget what had happened to Tenten. He had lost her…and something about pushing her thoughts away in exchange of kissing some boy he barely knew, didn’t seem right.

Despite how much blood was beginning to pump into his lower body. He reached between his legs, squeezing the erection he felt there and bit his lip at the embrace of his hand around it. As much as he wanted to indulge in the impulse…he stood up and made himself suffer through a cold shower.

He expects to find Naruto and Sasuke waiting outside his door but was relieved to find that they weren’t there. As he headed downstairs, he was actually to find that they weren’t in the dining room either and he heard a commotion in the back yard.

As he slid open the back door leading there a dagger found its way right between his feet. He jumped back surprised.

“Neji!”

He looked up as Iruka hurried over. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” He reassured, putting his hand on his chest. It felt like it was beating out but he leaned down to pick up the dagger impaled in the patio.

“Sorry about that,” Kakashi’s voice said as he headed over. “We started without you.”

Neji held out the dagger, expecting him to put it away but instead, he quickly tossed it behind him and into a tree.

“That’s fine…” Neji said. “I’m…not really much of a fighter.”

“We’re going to change that,” Kakashi said with a smile beginning to put his hand on Neji’s shoulder before it was knocked away by Iruka.

“After he eats,” Iruka said. “And even then, you’ll have to wait thirty minutes.”

Kakashi just laughed. “Okay, okay. Go ahead and eat.”

Neji followed Iruka to a patio table where Saya, Mina, and Yuki were sitting. “How long has everyone been awake?”

“Just a few hours,” Iruka reassured him, running his hand over Neji’s head. “I wanted to give you a little more time to sleep…if it helped.”

Neji was thankful, but it didn’t help as much as he would have liked. Breakfast was what Saya explained to him to be a common English Breakfast with eggs, toast, sausage, ham, beans, and tomato slices. He hadn’t expected himself to be so hungry but he ate everything on his plate and drunk the tea Mina poured for him.

While he waited for the thirty minutes Iruka had given him, he looked out onto the back yard where Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, Roy, Arthur, Zero, Kaname, Shikamaru, Ino, and Hagi were training together. For the most part, it seemed to only be a blur of vampires fighting with occasional metals class as daggers meet swords.

“Everyone is training hard…” Neji looked on.

“We are just doing our best,” Saya said. “Though many of us have been training for years.”

“I have to catch up,” Neji said watching them all before standing up. “Kakashi! I’m ready.”

Kakashi blocked a hit from Zero, knocking him away from him before he looked at Neji, waving him over.

As Neji began to hang over, Iruka grabbed his hand. “Be careful.”

“I will,” Neji assured before he jogged over to Kakashi.

“Good morning, your Highness,” Kaname said, bowing to Neji.

“Uh…you don’t have to do that…” It was awkward to see. He didn't use to be treated. He looked at Kakashi expectedly who just smiled.

“Are you ready to train?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be I guess…what exactly are we doing?”

Crossing his arms, Kakashi got a serious face. “I know this is going to sound like a lot, but we’re going to start with three vs eight.”

“T-three vs eight?” Neji was at a loss for words but Kakashi put up his hand.

“Don’t worry. We won’t really be fighting. I’ll be more of a training on your agility. We’ll play capture the flag. You, Naruto, and Sasuke, versus the rest of us, this training is more for the three of you. Naruto and Sasuke in protecting you, and you in protecting yourself if need be.”

He produced a bandana and handed it to Neji, who took in in his hand. “Imagine that this is your life. If we take it your dead. So do everything in your power to make sure we don’t take it.”

“Right,” Neji said. “Uh…are you going to use real weapons?”

“Not this time,” Kakashi said. “But you never know when we will actually have to begin training you in life and death situations.”

Neji dreaded that day but instead nodded, holding the bandana in his hand. “I understand.”

“Now…if everyone is ready…let’s gets started,” Kakashi looked over at everyone, moving over to stand with his teammates while Naruto and Sasuke moved to stand before Neji looking confident. The half-blood was at least happy that someone was. He wasn’t sure…but he couldn’t imagine this going so well.

“Start,” Kakashi commanded before everyone jumped into action.

* * *

 

This would make him famous. For years people thought there were only three chambers in The Great Pyramid of Giza. But after great length to searches, another room past the unfinished subterranean chamber underneath the pyramid was found. It was by far the hardest room to get to, and like some Indiana Jones’s movie he found that there were several traps set, many of his men were killed just by setting them but after many months of digging and the deaths of many good men, they made it.

The room was dark and empty without the usual things for when a King or Queen would be buried here. There was no gold or treasures to be along with the sarcophagus that sat in the middle. It was the only thing that looked to belong to someone of royalty with symbols carved into it.

It was a disturbing sight as he brought the lantern closer to inspect the symbols. All around the sarcophagus were symbols of people dying, being attacked by a large bat like a beast that had two halves of a person on its hands while its mouth was full with a woman, its sharp teeth impaling her through the chest.

“What is it old sport?”

He turned around to his first-hand man and his professor from Oxford. Professor Jamison squatted next to him as they looked at it. “It’s odd don’t you think, these aren’t Egyptians and look.” He stood up and walked around the sarcophagus showing his professor the symbols all around. They were all the same around with a giant bat-like creature attacking people but as they walked around the clothing style of the people were changing. It started from the sixteenth century up to the eighteenth century before the beast was caught and chained by one man who sealed it away in a pyramid. “This doesn’t belong here.”

“Your right.” Professor Jamison said. “These bricks are new compared to the regular structure.” He ran his hand over the wall before smelling it. “Shall we get to work?”

The rest of the men came back and he stepped back to let them in before going up to his professor. “You aren’t thinking about opening it are you?”

“But of course old sport. How are we to know what is inside if we do not open it?”

Before he could speak one of the archaeologists hit the sarcophagus with a hand pick. In one hit it cracked, a small chip falling in. “Hey, be careful.”

“Stay out of this Robert,” Jamison said as he put his hand on his student’s chest stopping him from stepping forward. “This is what we wanted to remember.”

Robert looked at Jamison as the torches around the tomb were lit. He looked back at the archaeologist who was using his fingers to pull the stone apart. He wasn’t doing a good job, as he could only put one finger in the crack that he had left before he quickly pulled it away. “Ow, I cut my finger on something.”

Robert looked as his finger which was bleeding, a drop of blood falling through the crack and for a second Robert saw a soft glow from inside before there were a loud crash and dust flew everywhere. Robert covered his mouth and closed his eyes as he waited for the dust to clear.

He heard a choking gasp and he looked up to see a hand sticking out of a much larger hole of the sarcophagus and he looked to see that hand was in the chest of the archaeologist who was looking shocked as he looked down at his chest before the hand yanked itself out and in the grasp was his heart. It was beating slowly before it stopped. Blood trailed down the dusty pale arm. The hand crushed the heart in one strong grasp before another loud crash as the sarcophagus explode and the tomb filled with dust and screamed.

* * *

 

The training went as well as Neji had expected it to go. Though Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be good with protecting them, when it came to working together they butt heads and got in each other’s way. And when Neji tried to protect himself alone, he only got the flag taken from him.

Everything continued to go as expected before something curious happened. While he was finally holding his own against Ino he was beginning to feel exhausted and the hunger he wanted to avoid suddenly back. He was already beaten with several quickly healing bruises and his shirt was ripped at the collar.

He had resorted to running from Ino but as they ran through the forest, the trees began to thin out and he found himself at the edge of a cliff and Ino closing in He looked over the edge, spotting a long drop down and a few flowers scattered along the cliff side. He stood up, taking a few steps away from it before his ears picked up the sound of someone coming. He turned around, ready to face her or at least let her take the bandana to restart the game but instead of her barreling out of the wood, Naruto came running towards him.

“Naruto,” Neji said relieved to see him but noticed the speed the boy was coming and the reason why. Following close behind him was Roy and all at once, the both of them realized with the speed they were going there was no way to stop the incoming impact.

Naruto crashed into Neji, trying to grip onto him but grabbing his shirt instead, both hanging over the edge. Roy, tumbled over Naruto, reaching out and grabbing Neji’s shirt while Naruto grabbed Roy around the waist.

“Shit, that was close,” Naruto said panting, smiling down at the two of them while he held onto the side of the cliff. Though he was carrying the weight of two people he didn’t seem bothered at all. He began to pull them up before they all heard a clear ripping.

Neji looked at his shirt, that was beginning to rip off of him. Roy grip was tightly latched onto Neji’s collar right where there was his tear was. Neji expected Roy to grab him with his other hand but spotted that it was just hanging limp un-moved. Neji reached out to grab Roy’s hand instead but Roy suddenly let go.

R-Roy was letting him fall!

It was the last thing Neji could think before he hit the ground.

A killing fall. Neji knew this was a fall that could kill…but for some reason he wasn’t dead. Though he couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything…ideas were still running through his head. Roy had let him drop, and Neji couldn’t imagine why.

He was sure he was bleeding out as he thought but slowly, behind what he had thought were his closed eyes, the light began to filter through and slowly his sense was coming back to him. There was an overpowering smell of blood and faint sounds of a growl. Following his growing sense of sound and smell, there was another growing sense that was making itself known. Pain.

Pain radiating up and down his pain, shooting at every point of his back and legs. His sight was slowly coming back and he could make out Naruto over him, now in his werewolf form and Roy, holding his arm.

“You dropped him!” Naruto snapped at Roy, literally snapping his jaw at Roy who held out the hand that he was using to hold his other hand.

“I couldn’t hold him and you may not look like it, but I felt you were going to let us go under the weight, be it on purpose or accident.”

Naruto growled at him before Kakashi landed beside them along with Arthur. “Jesus, what happened?”  Arthur asked.

“I dropped him,” Roy admitted. “Naruto was beginning to drop us and you beside me being killed for good, so would have Neji. Instead, now that I dropped him, he’s going to be okay.”

Okay? Neji wasn’t sure he could take the pain anymore and be screaming on the inside before his lungs began to work and he coughed blood out of his mouth. He felt like he was dying…in reverse.

Kakashi settled down next to him, watching as Neji continued to try to use his lungs. “Relax, it’ll be over soon. Just bear with it.”

Neji wasn’t sure he could but continued to lay there as pain only seemed to increase in his back. He could feel his spine moving under his skin as it fixed itself. It felt like a long painful process before finally, the last piece seemed to be in order and Kakashi sat him up.

He coughed up the blood in his lungs, feeling his bones popping in his chest and the last bit of blood came vomiting out of his mouth over him. He gasped for air, finally feeling the air in his lungs and blinked his dry eyes.

“I-I’m alive?” Neji asked surprised looking at each other.

“Of course. A fall like that wasn’t going to kill you,” Arthur pointed out. “Well…not kill you for good?”

Neji looked up at the cliff they had just been at before looking down at the amount of blood around him. Finally, his eyes landed on Naruto and Roy, wide-eyed and terrified. “Y-You let me fall?”

Roy closed his eyes. “I’m sorry…I-I had too…If Naruto had dropped us-“

“Naruto wouldn’t have dropped us,” Neji was quick to argue though he wasn’t sure why. “Naruto would never do that…”

He looked at Naruto, expecting to hear his side but Naruto looked remorseful, even a little bit angry. “Naruto…?”

Without a word, Naruto turned and ran off on all fours, shaking his head violently as he disappeared.

“It’s not his fault,” Kakashi said getting the males attention. He opened his mouth to continue but was cut off by a yell.

“Kakashi!”

They looked up at the top of the cliff where Saya was calling them. “You have to come see this!”

* * *

 

They had hurried back despite Neji wanting to go see if Naruto was okay, Roy insisted on taking him back to get them both looked at. It was clear that Roy’s arm was dislocated and Neji’s legs were actually still healing. By the time they made it back to the Zoo, everyone was gathered in the living room, including Naruto who was standing off to the side alone.

Neji began to head over to him but noticed the news on the television.

“I am on location at the Great Pyramid of Giza where a group of archeologists has been killed right inside. The screams were heard from the main corridor of the Pyramid and soon many tourists were greeted with the disturbing sight of a vampire emerging from the darkness of the corridors below. This is a videotape that one tourist shot on their camera, please be advise the sight of the move is disturbing.”

The anchorman was cut off as they showed the video.

It was shaky and hard to see but the glow of green was seen from the darkness before a figure appeared. It as a young man with long light red hair with a patch of white of his bang hanging in front of his face and over his left eye. The white hair was stained with bright red blood. He was shirtless and didn’t have shoes on as he stepped out of the darkness wearing black pants that were torn and covered in blood. Behind him, he was dragging half a body by its hair.

“Oh fuck.” The camera man said before he started to repeat it over and over.

His fangs were bare and covered in blood along with the rest of his mouth. He licked his lips as he dropped the half of the body he was dragging. A woman screamed but didn’t last long before he was on her biting into her neck and was quickly moving on to more. The cameraman ran out, noticing the vampire was running after him, but as soon as he stepped out into the sunlight he stopped keeping himself in the dark.

The vampire stuck out his hand to grab the man but it began to sizzle in the sunlight. He brought it back into the darkness, looking angry and in pain as his hand smoked in the sunlight.

“Holy shit.” The camera man said again before the video cut off and went back to the anchorman.

“As of right now the vampire is still in the pyramid and we fear as the sun continues to fall action will have to be taken to keep him at bay. As of right now military are at the scene.”

“That’s Tibult,” Mina said muting the television.

“Tibult?” Kai asked. “Who is that?”

“One of Dracula’s sons. The one without power and can’t go in the sunlight.

“I’ve just been called there,” Roy said putting his phone down. “Seems to be a business that has been called in for alchemists to handle. I have to go but my arm-“

Before he could finish, Arthur grabbed his arm and quickly popped it back into place, Roy yelling in pain before pushing Arthur away. “What the hell!?”

“I’m just helping,” Arthur said with a shrug.

Roy shot him a glare before hurrying off.

“The Alchemists aren’t the only ones going there,” Kakashi said. “We can be assured that Orochimaru would want to get his hands on Tibult as well. We have to go there first.”

“We’ll go,” David said. “Red Shield has intel that Diva will be going there.”

Neji stood up as well. “I want to go too.”

“Absolute not,” Kakashi said. “You’re staying here.”

“It might be a good idea,” Iruka said putting his hand on Neji. “The enemy of our enemy is our friend. If we explain to Tibult that we also want Orochimaru gone, he might come with us. And Neji might be who we need to help get him on our side.”

Kakashi looked between them before sighing and nodding. “Fine…you can go. But get ready.”

“You should get clean up,” Iruka said. “Hiashi is out covering up the smell of your blood, but you should get undress so I can burn those clothes.”

Neji nodded heading to his room. Sasuke was there by his door. “I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“Yes…I think so,” Neji said. “A little dizzy I guess.”

“You need some blood,” Sasuke said. “But I guess that’s out of the question.”

Neji pulled off his shirt, staring off the amount of blood. “You said you heard what happened right…Roy dropped me because Naruto was going to drop both of us…”

“It was a good thing to do,” Sasuke said leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms. “If Naruto would have dropped you, you would have died. It’s the only way you can die.”

“I can die…?”

Sasuke nodded before looking out the window, swallowing hard. “The only ones who can kill a half-blood are their protectors. Me and Naruto, even if we hurt you some way, it will leave a scar forever, unlike your already healing wounds.”

While that was interesting, Neji still didn’t understand. “Why did Naruto almost drop me?”

Sasuke licked his lips before looking at Neji. “It’s not his fault…he wasn’t himself…probably.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means what I just said. Naruto wasn’t himself.”

Neji still wasn’t sure what that meant but he remembered something Shikamaru had told him. “Is…Naruto dangerous?”

“Only if you want him to,” Sasuke said walking past him.

Neji watched him go before closing the door. Why would Naruto drop him? At one point, he wanted to kiss Neji and now he wanted to kill him. Neji couldn’t understand but he decided to push it out of his mind and continued to head out with David and the others.


	7. Chapter 7

Roy took a step forward. “As an honorary member of the United Kingdom, State Alchemist you are under arrest for crimes against humanity.”

Things were not looking good. From the time it took him to make it to Paris, Tibult had ventured out of the pyramid and into the shadow created by the setting sun. While he didn’t seem very interested in any of the State Alchemist around them, he squatted down and was allowing sand to slip through his fingers. He seemed to be more interested in looking at everything around him. Now that Roy had everything set up, to keep people back and his men surrounding the pyramid, Tibult was only silently watching the sky…probably buying time.

“Alchemy?” Tibult finally asked loud enough for Roy to hear. “Is that why I have a desirable urge to drain all of your blood.”

Roy narrowed his eyes looking towards the setting sun before looking back at Tibult. He growled to himself before looking over at the crowd of people still hanging around. No matter how dangerous this seemed to clearly be, people were still hanging around, watching and taking pictures of the vampire prince. Orochimaru had already put vampires in a bad light and this guy was not helping the cause. Neji wouldn’t stand a chance in bringing everyone together if he could not get everyone to see that the other race meant no harm. And with Tibult talking about drinking everyone’s blood…

“How odd that in this day of age alchemy is used as a way to arm a nation but has yet to be used in a war.” Tibult stepped forward and all of them raised their guns at him behind Roy but he continued to walk. The shadows he stood in continued to stretch out towards them but Roy continued to hold his ground. “I suppose I should show you how to really use it.”

A loud shot rang out and Roy turned his head to look at one of his subordinate’s his gun smoking. He shot Tibult in the center of his chest. Tibult stopped walking and put his hand over the wound, thick blood seeping through his spread fingers. “I guess I’ll kill you first.”

He clapped his hands together and Roy's eyes widen at the spark of red. He lowered his gun before Tibult slammed his hands into the sand and the sound of a gurgling cry made him turn to see a large black spike right through his subordinate, it coming out of his mouth before he retracted and Roy turned to his others.

“Move!”

It was chaos all around as he tried to get his men out of there, but many were getting caught in the black spikes that shot out of the earth and were impaling his men.

“HAA!” Roy turned to see Ed rushing at Tibult swing his blade at him. He hoped Ed wouldn’t get to hurt while he made sure everyone stayed back as he tried to think of something to do.

Tibult stood up straight and swiftly moved his body out of the way of Ed’s half hazard swings before he ducked and tripped Ed up. “Seems you have looked through the door. Who was it that you tried to bring back? You should have let them become a vampire.”

“AH!” Ed jumped up swinging again but Tibult moved ducking before he swung his leg kicking Ed in the head and sending him off.

“I’m going to rip your arm and leg off,” Tibult said walking towards him. “It bothers me that only two of your limbs are real, so I must make it even.”

Ed growled doing a back flip before he clapped his hands together and slammed them into the ground ready to attack but Tibult was faster. He was already jumping in the air towards him and he did a front flip, his foot making contact with Ed’s chest and slamming him back against the pyramid before grabbing his right arm. The pyramid began to glow slightly before it wrapped itself around Ed upper torso as Tibult stood in front of him holding out his right arm.

Ed growled trying to get out before Tibult put a foot on Ed’s right shoulder. “I admire your thrill to breaking the rules of alchemy.” He yanked off Ed’s arm in one hard pull making him scream as the nerves were separated. “So I will reward you with the Philosopher stone.”

Ed tried to glare through pain as he looked at Tibult. “I don’t want your pity.”

Tibult put down his foot before he dropped the piece of metal. “I suppose you don’t want your other arm either.” He grabbed it ready to pull when a gun shot fired, hitting the pyramid by his head. He turned his head slightly and looked at Roy.

“I know who you are…Tibult.” Roy said lowering his gun.

Tibult let Ed’s arm go and fully turned to look at Roy.  He lifted his head as he looked at him the wind blowing his hair. “A human…knows me.”

He began to approach him. “Roy! Run!” Ed yelled trying to struggle free.

Tibult walked calmly towards him. “Why is it that you know me, and I don’t know a thing about you?” Tibult stood a few feet in front of him “What is that you want?”

“I know of your father,” Roy said slipping on his glove just in case.

Tibult narrowed his eyes. “Father…” There was hate in his voice and eyes and the wind started to pick up around him. “Where is it…Where did you put it?”

“What?”

The vampire growled before hissing at Roy. “If you don’t know, I don’t need anyone who is on my father’s side with me.”

Before Roy could say anymore Tibult jumped at him. Roy took a step back not prepared for it before bright lights turned on behind him and Tibult screamed. He covered his face as he fell before he growled and his body expanded and he exploded in a large black bat that screamed out before flying in the air and out of Roy’s sight.

“Coronal,” Hawkeye called out to him as the lights turned off and Roy looked back at her and the large round lights that were pointing his way. Al rushed past him to his brother and Roy’s phone rang in his pocket. He picked it up, not having to look to know who it was.

 “What happened?” Kakashi asked.

“I’m not sure,” Roy said as he turned to the pyramid where Al had gotten Ed out of the binds that held him. “But something woke him up and he’s looking for something.”

“Right.”

“Roy,”-Roy hung up his phone and looked as Ed approached him- “what did you say to that guy?”

“I didn’t say anything,” Roy said before he walked off ignoring how Ed glared at him.

* * *

 

The city was in chaos as they made it to El Giza in Egypt. Many people wanted to leave but the State Alchemy military was screening who came and went. The streets were filled with distressed people and the military looking for Tibult.

“God this place sucks,” Mao said as she sat in front of the fan. “Why do you always pick the crappiest place to stay? We have a Queen and Prince with us for goodness sake.”

Neji wiped his sweat from his forehead as he sighed before a glass of water was held out to him. He smiled at Riku who held it out to him. “Thank you.”

“How long do we have to stay here?” Kai asked.

“Until we find Tibult and Diva,” David said. He was sitting at the table looking at the map of El Giza, his feet in a tub full of ice water.

“Maybe he went back to the pyramid,” Saya said. “Should we go look at it?”

“Roy and his men are there,” Lewis said. “But it might be a good idea to talk to him.”

“Fine, let’s good,” Kai said. He stood up.

“Sit down Kai,” David said.

Kai turned to him. “Come on, we are just going to the pyramid to talk to Roy, isn’t that what we came here for, to find out what is going on.”

Without waiting for an answer he stood up and left slamming the door opened. Neji waited before he stood up. “He shouldn’t go alone.”

“Then let’s go!” Mao said cheerfully standing up. “Saya, Hagi, Neji, what are we waiting for,” she grabbed Neji’s and Saya’s hands before dragging them out.”

“Hey wait for me!” Riku followed.

They met Kai outside watching him try to get a cab and failing. Another one zoomed by and he kicked his foot, kicking sand. “Come on.”

Mao pushed him aside. “You are doing it wrong.”

She stood in the middle of the street and held out her hand stopping a cab large enough for all of them. She walked up to the hood and slammed her hand on it. “Take us to the Pyramid of Giza!”

“I could have done it…” Kai grumbled as he opened the door and Riku, Saya, and Hagi climbed in the back. Neji followed sitting in the row in front of them and Kai and Mao got in. Before it could pull off the passenger door was opened and Okamura came in. “I’m coming too, someone needs to see what they can find out from the press.”

“What makes you think the press will be there?” Kai asked.

Okamura turned to him. “Trust me, they will be there.”

* * *

 

The taxi dropped them off and Neji shielded his eyes as he stepped out. Mao went through her bag and pulled out some sun screen. “Here, we are going to need this.”

She passed it out, even forcing Hagi to put some on as they headed over to the caution tape where people and the press were staring and watching the pyramid. Neji lead them to push towards the front of the crowd as he continued to rub sun tan lotion on his arms and legs that were exposed. They were all wearing lighter clothes and he was wearing shorts a t-shirt under a vest with tan boots and socks. Because of the heat, he was forced to put his hair in a ponytail but loose strains were hanging as his bangs hung in front of his forehead towards the right and were parted on the left.

“There’s Roy,” Okamura pointed out. “Try to get him alone to talk.”

Neji nodded as Okamura walked off. Mao crossed her arms. “We need to get Roy to notice us but also to distract these people.”

“Yeah, let me think…” Kai said looking around.

Mai stomped her foot; she was wearing a similar outfit to him without the vest. She put her hands on her hip and glared at him. “Look, you aren’t doing this alone asshole.”

Kai turned to look at her. “Did I say I was doing it alone? Jeez, you always overreacting.”

“I always over react! You’re the one who’s moping around all the time because you get left behind.”

“I don’t see you going along with them.”

“I don’t want to go with them because I know I’ll only get in the way. Maybe you need to learn that.”

He glared at her. “I don’t get in the way like you do.”

Neji watched the two of them argue for a moment before he noticed people were watching and Roy was one of them. He nudged his head to the side and Neji nodded slightly before he let himself get lost in the crowd along with Saya and Hagi.

They headed to a tent where Roy had headed to and went behind it where he was standing just at the edge of the caution tape that they couldn’t cross. He lifted it up for them and opened his hand to the tent. They slipped in and Roy followed.

“I’m glad you guys made it here just fine,” Roy said as he closed the tent door and turned on the fan. “Any news about Diva?”

Saya shook her head. “Nothing yet, but there is a word that she is here somewhere. Her concert schedule changed to come to Egypt.”

“Do you think she came because of Tibult?” Neji asked looking at Roy.

Roy nodded sadly. “I have a bad feeling the reason she is here is because he is awake.”

“How did he wake up?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out. He’s been buried under there for years until these archeologists dug him up by accident,” Roy crossed his arms, “he said he was looking for something.”

“Looking for something?” Saya asked.

“Maybe his brothers,” Neji said with a frown. “Or…his father.”

“No, he knows where his father is,” Roy said. “They locked their father away in his coffin and dumped it into the ocean. Maybe they are looking for Orochimaru…he is the one that locked them up. Maybe they are after him.”

“What happened to them?” Neji asked. “Why did this happen?”

“Orochimaru was following Dracula’s order,” Roy said turning on a fan in the tent. “He must have been tipped off about his son's plans. We don’t really know. One by one Orochimaru hunted the brothers down and trapped them away from each other in different locations.”

“But…Orochimaru wants me around.” Neji said blinking. “Why was he working with Dracula who wanted me dead?”

“Orochimaru thinks if he can get his hands on you. he can control you into doing whatever he wants which means finding Dracula and not kill him. He doesn’t expect you to rule vampires but be a weapon that they can use to kill off humanity.”

“So…we can get Tibult on our side,” Neji looked at Roy, “we just have to talk to him.”

“Easier said than done,” Roy said with a sigh.

“Especially when he’s not trying to pull off your arms.”

They turned to the entrance of the tent where Neji noticed a short boy in with an arm missing. He opened his mouth to say something but noticed that his shoulder was metal and there wasn’t any bleeding.

“Ed, what are you doing?” Roy asked in a warning tone.

“I heard everything,” Ed said glaring at Roy, “and now you are going to tell me what the hell is going on here. Who are these people and what your role is in all of this?”

Roy narrowed his eyes. “Something’s you don’t need to know.”

“The hell I’m going to let you just blow me off. That vampire knew alchemy, he knew about the door and the Philosopher stone! And you knew about him and you said nothing! You know what I’m trying to do and-“

“This isn’t about you!” Roy snapped. “The Philosopher stone will mean nothing to you or your brother if all of the humanity is gone. This has nothing to do with you! Now go! Winry will be looking for you.”

Ed glared at Roy and all of them before he turned and left. Roy sighed looking at the time, “the sun set soon, and Tibult will be out shortly.”

“But we don’t know where he is. Or what he is looking for,” Saya said.

“Kakashi is looking into it and will get back to me when he finds out,” Roy said.

Neji blinked before the sound of singing came to his ears. Saya gasped turning to the front of the tent. “Diva!”

She rushed out with Hagi and Neji behind with Roy. Outside the sun was setting and he looked as Diva was standing on top of the pyramid singing. Her long hair was blowing in the wind along with her white dress.

Neji stood by Saya looking amazed at Diva as she sung. “Her voice…” Neji said as he listened. He took a step forward but Saya grabbed his arm. “I’ve…heard it before…”

“Diva!” Saya yelled.

“AHH!”

They turned towards the crowd to see some people bent over in pain before changing into a large beast right before Neji’s eyes. Neji gasped. “What is that?”

“A chiropteran. It’s a monster that Diva has been using on her side,” Roy said. “I’ll get my men to take care of it, you handle Diva.”

“Right,” Saya said pulling out her sword while Roy ran off and they turned as the singing stopped and looked at Diva.

“I’m right here big sister.”

They turned around as Diva was suddenly behind them and she wasn’t alone. There was a man next to her had long black hair and in a black suit with a cape.

“Karl,” Saya growled.

Diva laughed against the back of her hand. “So eager to fight, when this isn’t even about you,” she rolled her eyes before looking at Neji, “Your Highness, Orochimaru has a gift for you, if you would accept it in good nature.”

“I would never take any gift from him,” Neji growled.

Diva pouted. “You hear that he doesn’t want you.”

“You don’t want me Neji.”

The anger slipped from Neji’s face as his eyes widen as Tenten stepped from behind Karl. “T-Tenten.”

She had her hair out with some of it pulled into a ponytail and behind her, she had a large sword. She was wearing tight black short leggings that came just above her knees and a light blue Chinese shirt that hung open exposing her cleavage which was wrapped up tightly in bandages. She had a pouch on the side of her hip and another on her left leg.

“Orochimaru fixed her for you,” Diva said, putting an arm around Tenten, kissing her gently on the cheek. “He felt bad for killing your girlfriend and brought her back to life so you two can be together forever. He couldn’t save Lee though…someone else already got to him.”

“Someone else...”

“Neji…” Tenten stepped up to him. “What are you doing? Come with me.”

He stared at her. “Tenten…”

“I see now. When I was human I was weak and so are you. I watched as you struggle to save me and Lee but because you were small and fragile and between two species you couldn’t do it. But we can get strong, together! If you embrace your vampire side we can live together forever as the superior race,” Tenten said. As she spoke Neji could see her fangs poke of her gums and over her lips. They were slightly pink with what he was sure was blood.

“Superior race?” Saya asked. “All you guys are, are blood sucking monster who think nothing but themselves. You don’t have to be like that.”

Diva laughed, “and what should we do, live on rats for the rest of our lives. Or get transfusions like you do big sister? We were all put on the same planet for a reason; one of us must dominate the other two.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” Neji tried not looking away from Tenten’s sweet brown eyes. “we can live together.”

“No we can’t,” Karl said. His lips were pulled back in a sadistic smile, displaying sharp deadly teeth. “Humans are our food and werewolves are nothing but a beast. We are the better race and there is nothing to say about that.”

“Why can’t you see that Neji?” Tenten asked. “You aren’t even human.”

Neji frowned before he closed his eyes and tighten his fist. “Yeah, I’m not human. But I’m not really a vampire or a werewolf either, but I know that we can all live together without violence, and no matter what it takes I’ll make sure that happens. I have to make sure that happens…because you’re right, we are all here for a reason, it must be for us all to live together.”

Diva leaned forward laughing. “You are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder with a smirk. “You think you can change the world yet you couldn’t even save your girlfriend and best friend. While Tenten is alive now Lee is most likely dead because of you. You cannot play both sides Neji. You’re going to have to choose.”

Neji glared at her before Diva sighed turning away. “All this talking is boring. As soon as Tibult gets here we can start right?”

“Of course Diva,” Karl said.

“Neji, you can still help us,” Tenten tried to persuade. “There is still time.”

Neji tightened his jaw and swallowed. “There isn’t…Tenten I can’t destroy humanity for vampire’s sake. Humans get a chance to live as well.”

“Humans are weak!” Tenten snapped. “They will die on their own, you saw it yourself with Lee and I. If vampires rule we can at least keep them as food supply and not worry about them killing each other with their pointless wars. Neji please.” She held out her hand to him.

“No…I won’t let that happened.” He shook his head.

She stood there before she slowly let her hand drop. “You…would choose them over me. You…you couldn’t even save me, how do you plan to save them all?”

Neji flinched. “I tried to save you all.”

“But you didn’t! Do I mean nothing to you?

“Of course not.”

Tenten had her fist clenched before she reached behind her and she pulled out her sword. “Just say it Neji.”

“But I-“

“Say it!”

Neji stared at the anger inside of her, something he had never seen from the older girl. He blinked before closing his eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I really did try.”

“Ngh…Don’t lie to me!”

He looked up as Tenten charged to him and Hagi jumped into action only for Karl to do the same. Karl hit Hagi out of the way, his arm changing as they started to fight. Saya stepped up and swung at Tenten, their swords meeting but it didn’t last long as Saya’s grip was broken and she had to break her defense and Tenten took the chance to knock her away before she changed courses and advanced Neji.

“Tenten stop. Stop! Ngh-“

“Neji!” Saya yelled out to him.

The immense pain made him gasp for air before Tenten quickly pulled the sword out of his stomach. He fell to his knees in front of Tenten and held himself up with one hand as his other pressed at his bleeding midsection. Tenten splattered some blood on the sand before she brought her sword up and licked the blood. Her eyes pulsed alive, glowing a bright hazel before she smirked looking down at Neji.

“You put life on the line for them. Don’t you think that is a foolish thing to do?”

His hand was shaking as he pulled it away from his middle to look at the blood that poured out. There was so much of it that it was making him remember finding his father. He felt sick and dizzy and he fell to his side. He looked at Tenten who was still licking her sword. She was licking off the blood before she looked down at Neji. “I guess this is the end for us Neji. I’m breaking up with you.”

She stood over him and held the sword down at him before she grabbed it with both hands. “And you came so close…I suppose we will just have to start over.”

She rolled him over onto his back with her foot and pointed the sword at his heart before she brought it up ready to plunge down. “Goodbye Neji, I’ll make sure your blood does not go to waste.”

She held it all the way up before quickly slamming it down before it stopped inches away from his heart. A drop of blood landed on his chest and he looked up to see Tibult holding the blade of her sword in his bare hand drawing blood.

He tightened his grip before kicking Tenten away, making her let go of the sword and sending her tumbling in the sand. “So…you’re half-blood,” Tibult said grabbing the handle of the sword and dragging the blade out of his hand, drawing more blood that coated the sword. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

He held up the sword before tipping it down towards Neji’s face, making the blood drip on his lip. Neji opened his mouth to say something but blood dripped in instead, running over his tongue his eyes widen at the taste and the feeling of his body working again coming back. The sickness was gone and was replaced with a burst of energy that made his heart leap. His wound began to heal quickly before his lungs felt like they weren’t working anymore and everything was still before coming back in one hard burst.

He took a big breath of air before coughing, turning on his side trying to get his lungs to work. Tibult grabbed the sword and broke it on his knee before he flung it to the side. “Women should not be taught to wield deadly weapons if they do not know how to use it, and it only makes it worse that she is a new born vampire.”

“So, Amshel was right, you’re finally awake,” Diva said with her eyes narrowed at Tibult. “And here I thought it was something bad I had to worry about.”

“Don’t test me little girl.”

Her eyes flashed blue. “Little girl! I’m not a little girl!”

She rushed towards him ready to attack but Karl grabbed her. “Diva no. You cannot beat him. We have completed the reason we came here.”

“This isn’t the end.” Diva said.

Neji stood up and looked at her before looking at Tenten. Her hair was blowing in the wind as she glared at him and he was a loss as to what to say or do.

“You could have saved me Neji.” Tenten said looking down. “You could have saved the both of us.”

With that the three of them were gone in a swirl of sand and Neji frowned. Tenten was alive but…one of them. Was it his fault that she ended up that way?

“Guys, are you okay?” Mao asked running up to them.

Tibult turned to her licking his lips but Neji stepped in the way. “Tibult…we have a common goal.”

“Your goal is to unit all of humanity, vampire, and werewolf races together while I do not care of anything of the sort happening. My goal is to fix my mistake by killing my father.” He was looking up at the star filled sky before he looked down. “But I cannot do it alone. I need my brothers.”

“Where are they?” Saya asked.

“I do not know. Logically Orochimaru would want to have great distance between us. I’ve spent all day in the library reading of what has come to the world in hopes to remember…remember…”

“Remember what?” Mao asked.

“Where it is…where my heart it?”

“Eh!?” Mao dropped her hands from her hips. “Your heart! What do you mean!? Isn’t it in your chest?”

“No, it’s not.” Roy said. “We can’t talk about this here. Go back to the apartment, now.” He walked away leaving them to go the other way. Neji turned to look at Tibult who had gone back to look up at the night sky. He seemed so much calmer then he was last night.

“It’s called a blood rush.” Tibult said as if he could read Neji’s mind. “Happens to new born vampires and vampires who have been without blood for a very long time. At the slight taste of blood they lose their minds and go on a rampage.”

“Are you okay now?” Neji asked.

“Hardly. I’ve been locked in a tomb for years and I still don’t think I have killed enough people as I should.”

“You have to stop killing them.”

“I do not have to do anything.” Tibult said. “I already told you, our goals are different.”

“They aren’t.” Neji said making Tibult look at him. “As far as I can see, your father isn’t going to want to unify us all…which makes him my enemy.” His enemy. Saying that out loud made it real. He looked down thinking about Tenten. She was…his enemy now, and it was his fault. “You need me to kill him, and I need you to help me change the world.”

“I care not about the world or what it will become after my father is killed. But if you promise to help me in my cause I will help you with yours.”

Neji smiled. “Yes, I promise.”

“Do not fool yourself half breed. I logically know I cannot kill my father without you and you will not kill him unless I agree to help, but my brothers do not think the way I do and they will not be as easy to persuade to help mankind.”

“I understand.” Neji said

“Come, our journey continues.” Tibult followed the path the others took. Neji looked at the spot where Tenten stood before he turned and followed the others.


End file.
